Heartless
by hummerhouse
Summary: The appearance of a mystery woman from out of the mist piques April's curiosity, especially when she's the only one who sees her. *Story takes place during the time when the Turtles, along with April and Casey, have fled New York City to escape the Kraang. 2k12 verse, multi-chapter
1. Chapter 1

Heartless  
part 1

April's eyes opened, her first waking thoughts nebulous and hard to grasp. Turning her head, a glance at the bedside clock told her it was nearly two am. The farm house seemed quiet and April wasn't sure what had awakened her.

She closed her eyes again, wiggling into a more comfortable position, but after a few minutes found that she couldn't capture sleep again. Feeling a little warm, April kicked the blanket aside, lying still for another couple of minutes before deciding that a bit of fresh air might help.

It was only a few steps from her bed to the window. Pushing aside the curtain, April unlatched the window and raised the sash.

The air smelled clean with just a hint of moisture in it and April glanced up at the sky, expecting that there would be clouds. Instead all she saw were twinkling stars and a quarter moon.

Her eyes strayed across the yard where she could just make out the outline of the swing set. Beyond that was the woods, too dark to see into.

Looking off to one side towards an open meadow, April noticed that area seemed much brighter. Deciding that had to be due to a play of light and shadow, she sighed and prepared to return to bed.

From the corner of her eye April caught movement and swiftly returned to her perusal of the meadow. Wisps of low mist stretched across the ground, hiding all but the tallest of the grasses that grew there.

The mist curled and twisted on itself, dancing in an almost mesmerizing way. So enthralled with watching its ebb and flow, April almost didn't comprehend the fact that she was seeing something else in the meadow, something nearly inexplicable.

With a frown, April pressed her forehead against the window glass so she could get a better look. Standing completely still in the meadow, surrounded by the rolling mist, was a woman. Though the quarter moon did not give off a lot of light, there was a strange glow about the woman, almost as if she was backlit by a small lamp.

April quickly lifted the window sash further and stuck her head outside. The distance was too great to afford her details, but April could see that the woman wore a light colored diaphanous gown of sorts, the sleeves long and puffy. Her hair appeared to be dark and it hung loose, nearly to her waist.

Not once since April first spotted her did the woman move. A shiver tickled April's spine then, because it almost seemed as if the woman was looking directly at her.

April mentally kicked herself for having such a fanciful flight of imagination. The woman was no doubt looking at the house, perhaps in need of assistance and unsure as to whether she should approach.

Closing the window, April crossed to the bed, sliding her feet into her shoes before retrieving her robe. Pulling it on, she grabbed a flashlight from her dressing table and hurried out of the room.

The nearest bedroom to hers belonged to Leo, and April went directly to it, tapping lightly on the door. As she expected, the turtle leader responded within seconds.

"April?" Leo asked, looking wide awake but confused at the early wake up call.

"There's a woman in the meadow," April told him. "She's just standing there looking at the house. I think she needs help."

One of the things April liked about Leo was that he didn't waste time with questions when action was required. Leading the way towards the stairs, Leo used the side of his fist to bang once on the bedroom door next to his, rousing Donatello. As soon as the tall turtle saw April, he fell into step with her, a quick glance taking in the fact that she carried a flashlight.

The next door in line opened of its own accord, and a disgruntled Raph appeared. "What's going on? Who's making all the racket?"

"April spotted someone out there in the meadow," Leo explained.

"Intruder?" Casey asked, coming down from his attic bedroom, followed closely by Mikey.

"A woman," April answered, following Leo downstairs. "I think there's something wrong with her."

"Why would you think that? Just because she's wandering around in the middle of nowhere all by herself?" Raph asked sarcastically.

"Do we have anymore flashlights?" Leo asked.

"In the kitchen," Don said.

"You and Mikey grab a couple of them and go out the back way," Leo instructed. "The rest of us will go out the front, just in case she's already made it to the house. We'll meet up at the meadow if none of us sees her."

Signaling for Mikey to come with him, Don quickly strode towards the kitchen. Looking back over his shoulder, he watched April go through the front door just behind his oldest brother.

Once outside, April skipped up next to Leo, determined to stay with him at the front of their search. Since she was the only one with a flashlight, it wasn't necessary for her to ask him to slow down.

The woman was nowhere near the house, so the group headed for the meadow. When they were around the house, April saw the bouncing beam of another pair of flashlights and in a second the foursome had caught up to Don and Mikey.

"We didn't see anyone," Don said, handing an extra flashlight to Leo while Mikey passed one each to Raph and Casey.

"She wasn't moving when I saw her," April said. "It was almost as if she was afraid to come up to the house."

"If she sees all of us coming at her it might scare her even more," Mikey said.

April jogged a few steps ahead of the group and then turned to face them, stopping the others. "Let me go first. You guys stay back so she doesn't get frightened."

"We ain't gonna stay too far back," Raph warned her. "If she brought some trouble along, we need to be close enough to take it on."

"I didn't see anyone else, but I'll be cautious," April promised.

Before going into the meadow, April got her bearings by locating her bedroom window. She took her directional cue from that point and then moved into the tall grass.

Damp leaves slapped against her pajama bottoms, soaking them fairly quickly. It didn't take long for a distinct chill to set into her skin, but April ignored the feeling, determined to find and aid the woman she'd seen.

Behind her April could hear the turtles and Casey. They were maintaining an even distance from her; not so close that they'd alarm the woman once April found her, but near enough to be of assistance if needed.

The only problem was that April was certain she should be able to see the woman by now. Frowning, she wondered if the woman was hiding, having seen the large group exit the farm house.

"Hello? Miss? I saw you from my window," April called. "I'm here to help you. Did you have car problems? Hello?"

Though she received no answer, April kept going, her eyes continuously sweeping the terrain. The beam from her flashlight wasn't much help; it kept her from tripping over the larger clumps of grass but the mist made her light bounce back at her whenever she tried to look ahead.

April wasn't sure how far she'd gone but after a while was certain she'd reached the place where the woman had been. She was no longer anywhere to be found and was not responding to April's repeated calls.

Finally April stopped and huffed in frustration. She was wet and cold and knew that the woman had to feel the same, if not worse. At least April was wearing long pants and a robe, the mystery woman had only appeared to be garbed in a thin gown.

"If there was someone here, she's gone now," Casey said, sliding up alongside April.

"What do you mean 'if'?" April asked, frowning at him. "Of course she was here. She obviously ran off when she saw us coming."

"That makes no sense at all," Casey said. "Why walk within yards of a house in the middle of the night if you don't need help?"

"Yeah," Mikey seconded. "If she needed help, she could have knocked on the door. Maybe she saw Raph's face and that scared her off."

"Wait until she sees your face after I get done rearranging it," Raph growled.

"Stop it you two," Leo admonished, seeing how agitated April appeared to be.

"Maybe she's fainted," April said a touch frantically. "Maybe she's lying out there in the grass and we can't see her."

"Is this the area she was in?" Don asked.

Nodding, April answered, "Yes."

"How much time has elapsed since you first saw her?" Don asked.

April glanced at Leo and said, "It took maybe three minutes to get to Leo's door and another three or four to make it out the front door."

"Add another minute to the meadow. Say eight minutes on the outside," Don calculated. "She can't have gone far unless she started running."

"Well if she was running I doubt she needs our help," Raph said.

"Let's separate out from this point," Leo said. "We'll form a big circular search pattern. Sweep the ground with your light and yell if you find her."

"Anything to get this over with," Raph grumbled.

The search party spread out and began walking away from each other. Periodically one of them would call out to the missing woman, but there was never an answer. They kept it up for almost fifteen minutes before Leo finally stopped.

"Everyone come back!" Leo shouted.

Converging back at the starting point, the group of six all looked at each other. It was clear that none of them had found anything, not even a clue to where the woman could have gone.

"There isn't much more we can do out here in the dark," Don said gently, looking at April.

With a sigh April nodded. "I suppose she's all right. We're so far from anyone that she had to have come from the road, but that's a long walk and she couldn't have seen the house from there."

"Who knows why humans do anything?" Raph asked grouchily. "Let's go back inside and dry off."

They all turned and trudged back towards the house. April wanted nothing more than to get out of her wet things and slide back under her blanket, but she couldn't get thoughts of the strange woman out of her head.

When they reached the front porch, the others proceeded inside, but April stopped and turned to look around. She couldn't help but wonder if the woman had gone into the woods and might be watching them even now.

Leo's voice snapped her out of her trance. "We'll go out in the morning and pick up her tracks, how does that sound? That will at least tell us where she came from."

April smiled at him. "Sounds good. Thanks Leo. I'm really curious now and it'll bug me until I get some answers."

"Same here," Leo in agreement. "Come on inside so I can lock up."

Following him indoors, April dashed upstairs to change while Leo locked the door and turned out the lights. In her room, April took a final look out of the window and then firmly shut it.

Out of her wet things and in dry ones, April crawled between the sheets and plumped her pillow before lying down. Staring up at the ceiling, the image of the woman standing in the meadow came back to her.

For a second there it had almost seemed as if the woman was floating on the mist. Shaking her head, April flipped onto her side and closed her eyes. She really needed to rein in her imagination.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Heartless  
part 2

As soon as it was light enough the next morning to see where they were going, April and the guys returned to the meadow. Bright sunshine had dissipated the mist and the eerie aspect from the night before was replaced by a field of cheerfully waving grass and colorful flowers.

"Whereabouts would you say the woman was standing?" Leo asked.

Once more April turned to get a sightline from her bedroom window. "I had to lean out to get a good look at her," she said. After a moment April pointed towards an area of the meadow. "She was standing over there."

Following her directions, the group traipsed through the meadow, their eyes open for some sign of the woman. They had walked a little ways without seeing anything when Leo stopped and asked, "April, are you sure this is the right spot?"

"I'm certain Leo," April said. " _Our_ tracks from last night are here, we should at least be able to find hers."

Raph was squatting nearby, scanning the ground around him. "I ain't seeing anything. No strange foot prints at all."

"There has to be," April insisted.

"Let's fan out," Don suggested. "The light was low last night and with the movement of the mist, it would be easy for the optics to be thrown off. We could be yards from where she was actually standing."

"He's right," April agreed with relief. "I should have thought of that. The first time I spotted her I was pressing my face to the window glass. We're probably looking in the wrong area entirely."

"Everyone pick a direction and keep looking," Leo instructed.

They spent another half hour searching, going far beyond the area visible from anywhere in the farm house and even into the woods. There were no out of place prints at all.

It was clear that April was growing agitated by their lack of clues. Afraid that someone else would say the wrong thing, Don finally spoke up.

"If she was a small woman wearing soft soled shoes, it's possible she wouldn't have left prints," Don offered.

"Sure. It's also possible that Red dreamed the whole thing," Casey said with a grin.

April spun on him. "I did _not_ dream that woman. I was wide awake and she was here."

Casey held his hands up in mock surrender, obviously not taking her very seriously. "Okay, okay, if you say so."

Don came over to stand next to April and glared at Casey. "I believe her."

Hoping to avert a war, Leo said, "Our main goal was to make sure that woman wasn't lying out here in need of help. She's not so there's no point in continuing the search. Let's go back to the farm house."

"Yeah, later on we'll probably catch a news cast about a stranded motorist," Raph said, agreeing with Leo because he wasn't in the mood to listen to Don and Casey's bickering. "Mystery solved."

Although reluctant to leave without proving her point, April trudged back to the house alongside Donnie. She decided that if they wanted to believe she'd imagined the whole thing then that was their problem. April knew that she hadn't.

When it came time for the local televised news broadcast, Raph had to practically drag Mikey away from his cartoons so that April could have the TV. Leo was outside working with Casey on his ninjitsu, but Don appeared as soon as the news began and sat on the couch with April to watch.

There was no mention of a traffic accident or stranded motorist or of anything at all that would explain a lone woman wandering around the countryside alone. When the broadcast ended, April turned the television off, leaning back against the cushions and scowling at the darkened screen.

"I did not imagine that woman," April declared adamantly.

"The news wouldn't report anything if the woman simply had a flat tire or something minor like that," Don said reassuringly. "Maybe she decided to stretch her legs while her companion changed the tire. She was probably embarrassed to be caught wandering around private property and ran back to her car as soon as she saw our flashlights."

April glanced up at him, awarding his efforts with a smile. "I'm sure you're right, Donnie. Let's go outside and work on my training. I don't want to think about this anymore."

"Deal," Don said and quickly jumped up, offering April his hand, which she accepted.

The remainder of the day passed as it normally did. April was still a little annoyed at Casey and during practice made a point of sparring with him so that she could throw him a few times. Watching him slowly push himself back to his feet and dust the dirt from his jeans lifted her spirits immensely.

When night rolled around and it was time for bed, April changed into her pajamas and then stood at her window for several minutes. Though dark out it was quite clear, with just a bit more than a quarter of the moon showing now.

Before fully closing her window, April leaned out to get a look at the meadow. With no mist to conceal the ground, it looked almost as it did during the day, the vegetation easily visible. Shaking her head, April locked up for the night and turned in.

April had been in the midst of a completely innocuous dream when she suddenly woke. Lying perfectly still she realized her heart was beating rapidly in her chest for no apparent reason. Eyes wide, she finally rolled over so that she could see the clock. It was one fifty am, exactly the same time that she'd awakened the night before.

Sliding out of bed, April walked slowly to her window. Hand on the curtain she hesitated, drawn to look out but not sure that she really wanted to.

"This is no way for a kunoichi to behave," April muttered before flinging the curtain aside.

She didn't bother trying to look outside until she'd unlocked the window and pushed the sash all of the way open. Then April leaned out of the window, her head immediately turning towards the meadow.

The heavy, low mist had once again enveloped the meadow. April watched it curl and twist on itself, realizing then that the area seemed brighter because the moonlight bounced off of the heavy ground curtain the way the beam from her flashlight had done the night before.

April knew that she was purposefully avoiding lifting her gaze, somehow knowing in advance what she would see. Finally her eyes moved up and trailed from the edge towards the center of the meadow.

There stood the woman again, in the same diaphanous gown. Her body was turned in April's direction, but she wasn't moving.

Feeling unnerved, April abruptly pulled back from the window. As soon as her view of the woman was cut off, April began to experience a sense of annoyance that was greater than her initial alarm.

This time she didn't bother with a robe, instead quickly pushing her feet into her shoes and snatching up her flashlight. Only when she reached her bedroom door did April slow down, determined to make no noise that might wake the guys.

Moving silently down the stairs, April tiptoed to the door and opened it just wide enough for her slim body to fit through. She made it to the porch and then down into the yard without alerting anyone, feeling rather proud of her ninja stealth skills.

April did not utilize the flashlight, wanting to get as close to the woman as she could without being seen. To that end, she crouched low as she scampered across the yard, hoping that the woman was actually looking up towards her window and would not notice her approach.

When April reached the edge of the meadow she dropped to one knee, remaining partially bent over. From that position she could just see over the waving mist into the meadow, spotting the woman right away.

Even though April was much closer to her quarry, she still could not make out the woman's facial features. The veil of hair was partially to blame but April thought the woman had tipped her head down, possibly sensing April's presence, and that position placed her face in shadow.

Wanting to be as close to the woman as possible in case she tried to get away again, April once more started forward. Entering the meadow in the same crouched position was like pushing through a veil; the mist curled around her body and cut off her view of her own feet.

The fear of tripping over something or tangling her legs in a clump of grass prevented April from moving fast. She was not as concerned with that as she was with keeping the woman in her sights.

Just when she felt as though she was getting within pouncing distance, April stepped into a large puddle of water. There was a loud splash and April's ankle turned, causing her to let out a yelp. Falling forward onto her hands prevented her from spraining the ankle, but she lost her view of the strange woman.

Unable to see the flashlight, which had flown from her hands when she went down, April had to feel around in the mud. A couple of seconds passed before her fingers closed on the plastic cylinder and she quickly jumped to her feet.

April was actually surprised to find that when she looked up, the woman was still there, although she seemed to be just as far off as when April first started towards her. Certain that the woman had not moved during her approach, April figured that the sound of her fall had startled the woman into backing away.

Since it was no longer necessary to hide her presence, April glanced down at her flashlight, finding the on switch and flicking it to life. When she looked back up again, the woman was gone.

"You've got to be kidding me," April mumbled to herself, shining the light all around her. At length she called out, "Miss? I'm from the farmhouse. I saw you out here last night. Please don't run away!"

Pausing to listen, April heard exactly nothing, not even the sounds of the owls who hunted in the nearby woods. Wiping the mud from one of her hands onto her pajama bottoms, April switched her grip on the flashlight so she could repeat the process with her other hand, all the while searching the area where the woman had been standing.

"Hello?" April shouted as she took a few more steps forward, but there was no answer.

Eventually April gave up, too wet and muddy to want to search anymore. She was frustrated with the entire thing, guessing that the woman came from one of the outlying farms and was sleep walking, or that she simply enjoyed playing games. April was not in the least amused.

Turning away, April began the trek back towards the farm house. Feeling fairly irritated, April made a mental note that the next time she went on a grocery run she'd make some discreet inquiries as to who else lived in the vicinity.

April had just stepped out of the meadow when a noise stopped her. Frowning, she listened for it again, thinking that it might have been a breeze rustling the dry stalks of grass. Again she heard it, like a faint whisper, sounding far away.

The air was completely still and April knew it couldn't have been the wind. Remaining where she was, the sound came to her once more, seeming to ride along the top of the mist.

 _"Why~"_

April nearly tripped herself again as she spun around. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up, chills sweeping up and down her body. No one was in sight; no one close enough for her to be able to hear them, yet she was sure she had.

Waiting, April barely breathed, hoping that the woman would speak again. After a couple of minutes, April tried talking to her.

"Hello? Are you still there?" April asked.

Dead silence. April could hear the sound of her own heart beat drumming in her ears and that was all.

Releasing a long, shaky breath, April started back to the house. She'd managed three steps when the mournful sound was repeated, the whispered words whipping around her like a chilly blast of arctic air.

 _"So~ cruel~ . . . ."_

Clutching her flashlight to her chest, April turned, expecting to see the woman standing there.

Instead, something grabbed her arm from behind.

TBC….


	3. Chapter 3

Heartless  
part 3

As soon as April felt the grip on her arm she twisted out of the hold, simultaneously turning and swinging at her assailant.

Her palm connected with a resounding _smack_ against solid skin.

"Ouch!"

"Donnie!" April exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise.

Rubbing the side of his face, Don said, "I should be more careful about sneaking up on you. What are you doing out here at this time of the morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing," April replied.

"I came out to check on one of my experiments in the barn. I'd set my alarm so I wouldn't oversleep; the timing was critical," Don explained. "You're covered in mud."

April glanced down at herself, grimacing at the mess. "I tripped in a puddle," she said ruefully. "It's hard to see water hazards in the dark."

"But why were you out here in the first place? Did you see someone again?" Don asked, looking past her at the meadow, a puzzled expression on his face.

"No," April lied. "I just wanted another look at the meadow under the same conditions as when I saw that woman last night. I had a thought that maybe she'd come over here from some new house in the vicinity. It's been a long time since I was last out here with my Dad and I don't know how much the area has built up. If she'd arrived at the meadow from a house, I got to thinking that if it's not visible during the day, I might be able to see its lights after dark."

"You could have done that earlier, before we'd all turned in for the night," Don said. "I'd have helped you."

"I know you would," April said, giving him a smile. She never made a big deal out of his devotion to her but it warmed April all the same. Don was very special to her.

So was Casey. April didn't want them vying for her attention, she didn't want them at odds with each other. Keeping them both at arms distance and trying to be nothing more than sisterly with her affections was the best way she knew of to preserve their new little family unit.

"Walk me back to the house," April requested, taking Don's arm in hers. "Unless you're not finished in the barn."

"I'm all done," Don said, blushing a bit the way he tended to do when she was near. "I was locking up when I saw you come out of the meadow. By the way, were you talking to yourself? I thought I heard to speak."

April laughed self-consciously. "Actually, I was calling myself clumsy for having falling down. I'll have to do the wash tomorrow since I'm nearly out of things to wear to bed. I'm glad I left so much clothing here those times when Dad and I vacationed at the house."

It was amusing to see the look of discomfort on Don's face when April mentioned clothes. He probably wanted to say he wasn't burdened with the problem but didn't think the comment would be proper.

Don really was rather old-fashioned in his gallantry, something that April found very endearing about him. Contrast that with Casey's brash suggestiveness which, April had to admit, was often titillating. Those two were very much opposites in many ways and April was no less drawn to either of them because of those personality traits.

They entered the house together, both doing so quietly so as not to wake anyone else. At the top of the stairs April parted company with Don, telling him she needed to wash up.

After she got the mud off of her skin, April retired to her bedroom and changed clothes. She was about to crawl into bed when her glance fell on the window. A slight breeze ruffled the curtains, reminding April that she'd bolted from the room without closing the sash.

For a moment she debated with ignoring it and leaving the window open. Chiding herself for being foolish, April walked to the window, pushing the curtain away in order to reach the sash. At the last second she closed her eyes, determined not to look outside as she firmly secured the window.

Afterwards, it took no more than five minutes for her to fall asleep.

April did not feel her normal energetic self the following day. She was tired; not only from two nights of interrupted sleep, but also because the sleep she did get wasn't restful. There were dreams plaguing her, dreams she couldn't remember other than there was a disquieting intensity about them.

Possibly it was the fact that she wasn't well rested that made April impatient with everyone. She was not in the mood to practice but did so out of a feeling of duty rather than her usual enthusiasm. Casey's teasing annoyed her, she found Mikey's antics to be aggravating, Raph's bragging irritated her, and even Don's attentions grated on her nerves. The only reason she didn't feel testy with Leo was because he remained focused on their stated task.

The practice session couldn't have ended soon enough to suit April. She didn't notice the looks the guys gave her as they all separated, Leo and Mikey heading for the house while Don and Casey returned to separate projects in the barn.

Discontented with the day, April sat on the swing and rocked back and forth in a desultory fashion. The mere idea of going inside was unbearable; even the short amount of time she'd spent in the kitchen at breakfast was stifling. She wondered how odd the guys would think it if she decided to camp out in the yard and avoid the house entirely.

April completely lost track of time. Sitting on the swing, her thoughts drifted randomly, often going back to her life before she met the turtles. She wondered where her father was and if she'd ever see him again. Though her mind was far way, April's eyes were continually drawn to the meadow and she would stare unblinking at it for long moments.

It was only when a figure walked directly towards her that April snapped out of her deep reverie and looked up. Donatello gave her a shy smile as he approached, a plate containing a large sandwich in his hand.

"You missed lunch," Don said. "I made you your favorite."

April hadn't even thought about food or that she might be hungry, but the sandwich did look good and Don had even placed a couple of pickle slices on the plate too.

"Thank you," April said, accepting the plate from him. Patting the seat next to her, April indicated he should sit down.

He didn't try to make small talk as April began to eat, for which she was grateful. Don didn't stare at her either, his gaze politely averted as he pretended to be interested in studying a bird's nest in a nearby tree.

April had finished the sandwich and was munching on a pickle when Don finally spoke. "Are you feeling all right, April? You seem very . . . withdrawn today."

Sighing, April said, "I'm okay, just feeling a little claustrophobic. The day is nice and I haven't wanted to go inside."

Don glanced around them and said, "It is nice out here. Being surrounded by trees instead of buildings takes some getting used to. As a turtle I should probably feel more at home in the woods than in the big city."

"I guess it depends on what you're used to," April murmured, settling back on the seat. "Out here the pond would probably have been your home."

"Pond?" Don asked. "That seems like it would be kind of small for a turtle's needs."

"Not the pond you're thinking of, the other one. The fishing pond," April said, pointing at the meadow. "You go that direction to reach it."

"We haven't seen that one yet," Don said.

"In the summers after my mom . . . well, when my mom wasn't around anymore, my dad and I used to come out here and spend a couple of weeks," April reminisced, a faraway look in her eyes. "We'd get up really early, before daybreak, grab our fishing gear and head out across the meadow to the pond. You know, it's funny . . . ."

When she paused, Don noticed her brow had furrowed as though something was puzzling her and asked, "What's funny?"

"In all those years I rarely remember there being a mist shrouding the meadow," April said. "Yes we'd have the occasional fog bank, but that would cover the _whole_ area, not just the meadow. Do you remember how the meadow looked the last couple of nights?"

"I remember the mist was definitely confined to the meadow," Don answered.

"It didn't spill over into the yard at all Donnie," April told him. "Remember? The mist stopped right at the edge of the meadow."

Don looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it that is _very_ odd. The yard is mowed in a straight line where it touches the meadow and the mist ended in that same straight line. That's an atmospheric anomaly."

"Are you guys still talking about the vanishing woman?" Casey asked, a teasing tone to his voice.

The pair on the swing had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't seen Casey and Mikey wander out of the woods together.

"No we weren't," Don answered quickly, aware that Casey's attitude about that event annoyed April. "But since you brought it up, I'm sure that woman had her reasons for hiding from us."

Casey smirked at him. "Can't think of any. Why don't you tell me a few of them and while you're at it, how she disappeared like that?"

Mikey's eyes widened, his expression suddenly fearful. "Maybe squirrels got her."

"Don't be an idiot," April said sharply. "There are no such things as killer squirrels."

All three males stared at her in surprise. It was true that sometimes Mikey's fanciful imagination tried their patience and they'd lash out at him, but April never had.

"Chill April, I'm just trying to help," Mikey said, his face melting into a pout.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Mikey," April apologized, feeling terrible. She had no idea why she'd said what she did. "I'm just really sick of talking about that woman."

Mikey brightened. "It's all cool. Squirrels don't make sense anyway. I bet she was a ghost."

With that pronouncement he bounced off towards the house, his mind no doubt already on other things.

April wrapped her arms around herself, feeling unexpectedly chilled. It was a mild day, warm in the sun, and there was no reason for her to be cold.

"Maybe you should go inside Red," Casey said with a note of concern. "You don't look like you're feeling too good."

"Tired," April responded. "That's all, just tired."

Don stood up. "Come inside with us and lie down. We'll make sure everyone is quiet."

As much as she disliked the thought of leaving the outdoors, April wanted to be warm again. Rather than argue about it, she walked along with Don and Casey back into the farm house.

One look at the stairs leading to the bedrooms and April balked. The idea of being cooped up and alone in her room made her feel colder still. Without a word, she turned and went into the living room, plopping down on the couch. Kicking her shoes off, April tossed a throw pillow against one arm of the couch and lay down.

The television was on, the volume low, and April's eyes stayed fixed on the screen. It didn't matter what was playing, the mind numbing effects of objects flashing by soon had her feeling drowsy. Before long she was sound asleep.

True to his word, Don enlisted Casey's help in maintaining a quiet household. Mikey was allowed to watch his cartoon, but not to adjust the volume. He practically sat on top of the television, but was otherwise satisfied.

April appeared so peaceful that the guys chose not to wake her for dinner. Later, when everyone was turning in for the night, Don and Casey stood behind the couch looking down at the slumbering girl.

"Maybe we should get her upstairs to her bed," Don suggested, looking unsure.

"Nah, leave her alone. Let her sleep," Casey said, lifting the blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over April. "Come on Don, she'll be fine."

Casey started upstairs, pausing part way up to see what was delaying the turtle. Don cut off the overhead lights, but decided to leave a small lamp burning, in case April woke and became disoriented. Then he followed Casey, glancing one last time at April before proceeding on to his room.

The house creaked and groaned around the sleeping girl as it settled but soon those sounds were gone, leaving an almost complete silence. There had been a measure of comfort to the low noises made by the other occupants during the daylight hours, but now the total stillness bled into April's subconscious to disturb her.

Images rolled behind her closed eyes, hints of a dream without the dreamlike quality of something created by her own mind. The pictures were surreal and hypnotic, painted in sepia tones, featuring people April did not recognize. There was a violence to them that had April moaning in her sleep, fighting the need to warn someone against the greater need to flee.

Suddenly her eyes flew open and April sat straight up. It took her a moment to realize that she was on the couch and when she reluctantly glanced at the wall clock, April saw that it was one fifty am, just as she feared.

Snatching the blanket from where it had pooled around her feet, April pulled it up to her neck, determined to remain exactly where she was. Minutes ticked by, taking with them to urge to go outside.

April had started to relax again when she once more heard the voice from the night before; the voice of the woman in the meadow.

" _Don't want to be alone~"_

Before even the last word reached her, April had already risen to her feet. She could feel the blood rushing to her head, the sound of it roaring in her ears.

It was all too much. April had enough and meant to catch that woman tonight, no matter what it took. Rushing to the door, April didn't bother with her shoes or a flashlight. A hint of caution crept into her thoughts at the last minute and she opened the door quietly, determined that tonight would be a solo mission.

As soon as the meadow was within view, April saw the woman. She seemed closer to the house than she had before, as though she too was resolved to facing April.

" _Come to me~"_

April started forward, traipsing across the hard ground in just her stockinged feet. Her eyes never left the woman, who seemed to float closer with every step April took.

" _Yes, you are the one~"_

Abrupt realization hit April then. She wasn't hearing the woman with her ears, she was hearing the woman in her head.

" _Who are you? Why are you here?"_ April thought back to her.

The woman didn't answer and April began to run. Was it her imagination, or had the woman lifted her arms and begun to beckon her?

Wet grass slapping her legs was April's first indication that she'd entered the meadow. The mist was thick; much denser than it had been on the two previous nights. Though she tried to keep the woman in sight, each time her feet hit an uneven spot her eyes were jolted from her target.

Just as she was within a few feet of the woman, a hidden patch of bind weed wrapped itself around April's ankles. It yanked her to a stop, nearly catapulting April onto her face. Only the balance she'd been taught in her kunoichi training saved her from another fall in the meadow, but when she got herself loose and looked up, the woman was gone.

"No!" April cried aloud. Then in her mind she called, _"Come back!"_

There was the hint of a whisper nearby and the mist lifted and then settled, as though something had run through it. April spun in a circle, searching all around her without catching a glimpse of the mysterious woman.

April thought she saw movement in the direction of the farmhouse and turned, seeing nothing. Releasing a deep breath of frustration, April tried speaking with her mind again.

" _You've come here for a reason,"_ April said with her mind, pushing her thoughts outward as she swiveled round to survey the meadow. _"What do you want?"_

Just as with the previous two nights, there was nothing. The woman had chosen to disappear again, repeating her now nightly performance.

There wasn't anything April could do, much as she hated that feeling. One last time, she cried out, _"What do you want?"_ Silence.

Biting her lip, April finally gave up and turned around.

The woman stood two steps in front of her. Hair and gown dripping wet, she lifted her head, presenting a face that was distorted and garish looking.

" _You."_

TBC…..


	4. Chapter 4

Heartless  
part 4

Before April could react to the ghostly figure she confronted, the thing rushed at her. April lifted her arms up in front of her face defensively, but the blow she expected never landed.

Instead, just as the woman's body connected with April's, she disappeared. Her form evaporated into a puff of smoke, leaving behind the scent of mildew and decay.

Stunned, April remained rooted to the spot as the mist around her legs slowly rolled back. In a few seconds that area of the meadow was clear, the ground quite visible.

April waited no longer. Though she could not sense the woman now, staying outside alone seemed like a very bad idea. She started her legs moving towards the house, suddenly feeling quite exhausted.

Traversing the yard, entering the house, and going upstairs to her own bed barely registered in April's mind. April ignored her damp and torn leggings and the sting from the bottoms of her feet as she fell into a deep slumber.

Morning dawned sunny and warm. The turtles and Casey occupied the kitchen, all of them sharing teasing banter with their breakfast.

When April came into the room all talking stopped as the five guys gaped at her. Gone were her leggings, her bare legs tanned and shapely, and she had traded her t-shirt for a tank top. Her signature pony tail had also been replaced; April now wore her hair down, which gave her a coquettish look.

Casey found his voice first, leaning back to better appraise her new look. "Wow Red, maybe you should sleep on the couch more often. You look great this morning."

"How typically indelicate of you to say so Jones," April responded. "I suppose a backhanded compliment is still a compliment. Thank you."

Lifting a brow, Casey glanced over at Donatello, who shrugged. April moved towards the table, stopping next to an empty chair and looking at it pointedly. It took a second for Don to realize what she wanted and then he mumbled, "Oh."

Jumping to his feet, Don pulled the chair out for her and after April gracefully sank onto the seat, he pushed it back in.

"You want some breakfast April?" Mikey asked from his spot at the range.

"I don't suppose you know how to poach an egg?" April asked, looking over at him. At the puzzled expression on his face, she said, "No, I didn't think you did. I'll just have some dry toast and tea."

It was pretty obvious from her stationary position that April expected someone to bring breakfast to her. Leo put down the dishes he was washing to dry his hands and then he dropped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. The pot of tea he'd made for himself was still half full and hot, so he poured out a cup, placing it on a saucer before setting it on the table in front of April.

Gingerly lifting the cup to her lips, one pinkie extended, April took a sip. With a nod of approval, she said, "I'm glad that someone around here can at least make a decent pot of tea."

"Uh, thank you?" Leo responded, making it a sort of question because he wasn't quite sure how to take her comment.

Raph hadn't stopped staring at April since she'd entered and now he asked, "Hey April, are you feeling okay?"

April cast a slightly haughty eye in his direction. "I feel perfectly fine, Raphael. Why do you ask?"

"Well for one thing, you just called me 'Raphael'," Raph answered. "For another, when do you go to practice with your hair like that? You want someone to grab a handful of it and yank it out?"

"Practice?" April asked, appearing truly confused by the reference. Then her brow cleared. "Ah, fighting. I suppose that is a useful thing to know."

"Yeah, especially if you wanna be a kunoichi," Casey muttered, watching as Leo served a plate of toast to April.

"How very droll Jones," April said dryly. "I believe that today I will simply watch the rest of you _practice_. Surely that will be just as enlightening as actively rolling in the mud with you."

"No it ain't," Raph said, leaning forward as April took a bite of toast. "If people could learn to fight just by watc . . . ."

Leo cut him off. "That's fine April. If you don't feel up to practicing today you can observe."

Raph scowled at him, then at April. She seemed oblivious to his displeasure as she ate her breakfast, her eyes focused on her plate. When the guys began to leave the kitchen to go outside, April made a show of requesting a tea refill, stating that she'd follow them once she'd had time to digest her food.

Having taken an extra couple of minutes to top off April's tea cup, Leo was the last to reach the yard. The others stood there looking at him expectantly, none of them giving the slightest indication they were ready for practice.

"What's up with her?" Raph demanded when Leo reached them.

Leo shrugged. "I have no idea."

"She's changed," Casey said.

"Yeah, she doesn't even sound the same," Mikey said.

"She's all formal sounding," Raph added, his lips curling in distaste, "and she's got a weird accent."

"And she's . . . girly. Since when is April girly?" Casey asked.

"April hasn't been sleeping well," Don said, feeling the need to come to her defense. "I think that started before she saw the woman in the meadow."

"She looked like she was sleeping pretty good yesterday," Casey said.

"Just because you're asleep doesn't mean you're getting restful sleep," Don informed him. "I think she's been having bad dreams because something keeps waking her up at night."

"Like the night she saw that woman," Mikey said.

"And the night before last," Don told them.

"She was outside again?" Leo asked with a frown.

"I found her out there in the meadow," Don said, hoping he wasn't telling them something April hadn't wanted to share. "She was covered in mud and when I asked about it, she said she'd tripped."

"Did she say _why_ she was out there?" Raph asked.

"Something about wanting to see the area again under the same conditions as the night before," Don said. "She thought it might give her a clue about the mystery woman."

"I'll bet _you_ didn't even think that was strange," Casey said snidely. "Just like you think she actually saw a woman out here."

"April says there was a woman and I believe her," Don stated firmly.

"A woman ghost," Mikey said, repeating what he'd asserted once before.

"Give it a rest Mikey," Raph snapped.

"Shh, here she comes," Leo hissed at them. "Let's practice; that's why we're out here."

Lining up to begin their training session, the guys surreptitiously watched April come towards them. She was carrying a book in one hand and her tessen in the other.

She walked right past them with hardly a glance, proceeding directly to the swing. After getting comfortably situated, April began to fan herself with the tessen before looking over at the guys.

"Please, go ahead and begin," April told them, sounding bored.

Leo cleared his throat and got the group's attention so he could start to lead them. April watched for a few seconds and then opened her book and began reading.

Practice lasted for a couple of hours during which April ignored everything but her book. Everyone's concentration was off because of it; Casey, Don, and Raph all casting glances in her direction, two with concern and one with annoyance.

Displeased with the session, Leo finally called an end to it for the day. The guys started to drift in different directions, each having projects of their own to occupy themselves with.

Don hadn't gone far when April called out, "Donatello, do be a dear and bring me something cold to drink would you? I'm absolutely parched."

"I'd be happy to April," Don said agreeably, ignoring Raph's snort of contempt.

When Don returned with a large glass of ice water, April moved her legs off of the swing, smiling brightly at him as she accepted the drink. "Thank you so, so much. You've saved my life. Please sit with me. Other than the heat, it's quite pleasant."

Taking the offered seat, Don's eyes were drawn to April's legs and he blushed, quickly pulling his gaze away. April sipped her water as she watched him over the edge of her glass, a small knowing smirk etching her lips.

Clearing his throat, Don asked, "Are you feeling better today, April?"

"Most certainly," April replied, setting the glass on the ground and twisting around a bit so she could face him. The position placed one of her knees within an inch of Don's thigh. "You know, I've never told you this, but I really don't know what I'd do without you Donnie."

Her voice caressed his nickname, making it sound as though her calling him that was something private between them. It gave Don a fluttery feeling in his stomach.

"I'll always be here for you April," Don said, gazing at her adoringly. "If there's ever anything you need, you only have to ask."

"I know that," April said, lifting a hand to Don's cheek. "No one else cares for me the way you do."

"The others all care about you," Don said, feeling slightly dizzy at her touch.

"Not as you do," April insisted. "I don't feel that I could call on any of the others if I should need to."

"What about Casey?" Don asked. It wasn't a something he particularly wanted to discuss, but it seemed a propitious time to get some clarification.

"Jones is a misanthrope with no refinement at all," April asserted with a touch of scorn. "I simply humor him to keep the peace. It really does get tiresome."

Don was surprised at the disdain in April's tone. He'd never seen any indication of that type of derision towards Casey in April's interactions with the boy.

"I thought you . . . liked him," Don said, broaching the subject gingerly.

"Oh really Donnie," April said, dropping her hand from his face onto her own knee. Her fingers were splayed out and came to rest on the side of Don's thigh. "You do remember how we met don't you? Jones needed a tutor, for heaven's sake. Trying to have an intelligent conversation with him is like pulling teeth."

Don was hyper aware of April's fingers on his thigh and knew that he was probably blushing again. "Have you ever said anything to him about this?"

Eyes wide, April shook her head. "No, of course not. I could never. Jones frightens me, Donnie. He does the most insane things sometimes. I worry about that, you know? Suppose I said something he didn't want to hear and he just blew up?"

"I don't think he'd ever do anything to you April," Don assured her.

"Because you wouldn't let him, would you Donnie?" April said, leaning towards him.

April's bare knee pressed into Don's thigh, her fingers lightly caressing his skin. Don found that his gaze was trapped in her blue eyes as she stared beseechingly at him.

"You'd protect me from harm always, wouldn't you Donnie," April repeated, her breath drifting across his face.

A scent not unlike damp moss hit Don's nostrils and he blinked, pulling a little away from April. "Yes I would," he promised.

A small crease knitted April's brow before smoothing out and then she smiled at Don. Her fingers began to creep further onto Don's thigh as April slid closer to him.

"Donnie!" Mikey called from the house before jumping down from the porch and racing towards the pair.

April frowned and moved away from Don. Her huff of annoyance was clearly audible as Mikey drew near.

"What do you need, Mikey?" Don asked, reading his brother in a way that only a sibling could manage.

"So, I turned on the television and the mixer at the same time," Mikey said, explaining himself with a lot of arm movements, "and there was this big spark . . . ."

"Excuse me," April said in a voice dripping with contempt. She stood up abruptly, dropping her book onto the swing and kicking over her glass of water.

Don watched April storm off towards the house, his expression deeply puzzled. Mikey hadn't stopped talking but Don was barely listening to him. As much as he hated to admit it, Casey had been right. There was something very different about April.

A couple of hours later Don had finally managed to sort out Mikey's problem, explaining to him that he shouldn't plug the mixer into the same outlet with the television or he'd blow a fuse again. From the blank look on Mikey's face it was a sure bet the message wasn't getting through.

He was debating whether to try and rephrase the explanation when a loud banging from upstairs drew Don's attention. It sounded exactly like the side of a fist pounding on a door and when Don rushed to the staircase and looked up, he saw Raph standing in front of the closed bathroom door.

"Come on April, you've been in there forever!" Raph bellowed, glaring at the door.

The sound of April's voice drifted out. "I'll be out in a minute."

"You said that an hour ago!" Raph yelled, battering the door with his fist again.

By this time the rest of the household had gathered to find out what was going on. Don started up the stairs but stopped when the bathroom door was suddenly flung open.

"This situation is horrible!" April exclaimed, a small mirror in one hand and a hairbrush in the other. "I need my own bathroom. There is no place in here for my things, it's stuffy, I don't have anything that I need, and someone is always interrupting me!"

"Excuse me for living your highness," Raph told her. "Since we only have one bathroom your primping will have to wait 'cause some of us have business in there doing what a bathroom is meant for."

"Must you be so vulgar?" April asked, her words bouncing off of Raph's carapace as he pushed past her to enter the bathroom.

Looking down at the remaining males gathered below her, April's eyes lighted on Casey and she said, "I must have some things from the market. It's impossible to produce a decent finger wave or even a pin curl from the products that are at hand. I'll give you a list and you can drive in to town and fetch them for me."

Casey laughed. "No way Red. I'm not shopping for a bunch of female stuff."

April stomped her foot. "Why must you be so difficult?" Tossing her head, she said, "Fine. I'll go with you. It's probably better than way; I'm sure you'd forget something."

"Whatever," Casey said as April descended, sweeping by Don without a glance.

"Do you want one of us to go with you Casey?" Leo asked.

"No he does not," April answered for the boy, shoving the mirror and hairbrush into Leo's hands. "I'm certain the two of us can manage quite well on our own. Can't we Jones?"

"Don't know why not," Casey grumbled, digging the van keys from his pocket and following April out of the front door.

Completely bewildered by April's behavior, Don watched the pair leave. Earlier in the day she had expressed a dislike for Casey's company, now April seemed to be insisting that she wanted to be alone with him.

Don had an overwhelming feeling that something was seriously amiss.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Heartless  
part 5

Casey wasn't very enthusiastic about having to drive to town just to purchase a bunch of feminine claptrap for April. She had never felt the need for that type of stuff before and that was one of the things he'd always liked about her. April was a down to earth kind of girl without pretenses. Her honesty and strength were appealing.

The pair rode in silence for a time, Casey's eyes on the road and his mind digging at April's odd new behavior. April was buckled into the passenger seat, but after a couple of miles, she shifted so that she was partially turned in his direction. From that position, April began to stare at Casey's profile.

It didn't take long for her scrutiny to get to him. "What?" Casey asked, glancing at her with a frown before looking back at the road.

"You're annoyed with me," April said. It sounded more like a flat statement than anything resembling remorse at that fact.

"You've been acting strange all day, Red. What's up with you?" Casey asked.

April sighed. "I'm sorry I sounded so demanding. I seriously needed to get out of that house. Sometimes I feel as though the walls are closing in on me. Doesn't it ever bother you?"

"Yeah, I guess," Casey said. "It ain't gonna be forever though."

"It feels like it," April told him with a pout. "I'm thoroughly fed up with having to live in the country like animals. There are barely any conveniences and everything is just so _dirty_."

"You never complained before," Casey said, peeking over at her again. "It's your family farm house, I thought you liked roughing it."

"Yes, when I was a _child_ ," April stressed. "Don't you miss the excitement of the city? Good cuisine, shows, parties, music, all of the things that make you feel alive?"

"I miss going to hockey games," Casey admitted.

"Of course you do. Organized sports, the thrill of a horse race, and concerts. Country life is for the uncivilized. _We_ don't have to live like that," April said.

"We do until the Kraang are gone," Casey reminded her. "Besides, it's not like the turtles can go anywhere else."

"I'm quite aware of the fact that those freaks can't, but that doesn't nail the two of us down to one spot," April insisted. "There's an entire world out there for us to explore."

For a moment Casey was too stunned to know how to respond. Had April actually referred to their turtle friends as 'freaks'?

"What about our family in New York?" Casey asked. "You talk like you're ready to ditch them."

"No of course I don't want to do that," April said, reaching out to set her hand on Casey's shoulder. "But don't you think we owe it to them to stay alive? The turtles will figure out what to do and they'll save the city. It's their job, they have to do it. We don't. We can be together, live exhilarating lives, and travel to exotic places. If only . . . ."

Casey was watching April from the corner of his eyes and as she trailed off he noticed that she had started to frown. "If only what?" he prompted her.

"Well you know that whatever happens, whether we try to go off on our own now or wait until we return to New York, Donatello will still be an issue. He's so intelligent and he has a thing for me, which of course, I've never encouraged," April said, giving him a speculative look.

"Is that right?" Casey asked doubtfully. "You ever give him the old 'we're just friends' speech?"

"That's just the point I'm attempting to make," April said, skipping completely over Casey's question. "Donatello is extremely jealous. I believe he's guessed that I favor you, though I've tried to hide that from him. He'd never let me go and I'm afraid of what he'd do if he thought the two of us were trying to be together."

"You're reading him wrong," Casey asserted. "Don ain't a violent guy, Red."

"It's you who hasn't seen his true character," April said. "He's a ninja and an animal and you should remember that. I've never told you about this, but when you and I met I was trying to extricate myself from the turtles. I found out that Donatello was following me everywhere I went. You can't tell me that's not stalker type behavior."

"Old Donnie hasn't had a lot of experience with girls, he probably didn't know any better," Casey said, wondering why he felt the need to defend the guy.

"That's because there are no female turtles," April said. "He's projecting his instinctive need to mate onto me. It's disgusting and it's frightening. Suppose he realized that I want to be with you? He might hurt you or he might even come after me. Donatello isn't human, he doesn't value life the way we do."

"I've fought Don before. I can hold my own against him," Casey said confidently.

April squeezed his shoulder and slid her hand towards his neck, caressing it with the tips of her fingers. The action sent a tingle down his spine and made his legs quiver.

"I know you can. I have such confidence in you Casey," April replied in a low, husky voice. The sound made Casey swallow heavily and curl his toes inside his shoes.

"S-so what are you worried about?" Casey stuttered, something he'd never done around April before.

April appeared smug. "It isn't a physical altercation between you two that concerns me," she answered. "I reminded you of his intelligence for a reason. There are a hundred things he could do to us and we'd never see it coming."

"You're afraid he'd do what? Blow us up? Poison us? Donnie?" Casey asked incredulously.

Unbuckling her seat belt, April moved closer to Casey. She began to rub slow circles on his neck with one finger, letting her nail gently graze his skin in an enticing manner.

Leaning in conspiratorially, April whispered, "Not if we got to him first."

Shocked, Casey wasn't sure how to respond. His brain couldn't register anything for a few seconds, and when it finally did, the signal came from his olfactory nerves. Something smelled like stagnant water and he wondered if they were passing a creek.

It was enough to make him decide he didn't want to continue this particular conversation. Whether April was joking or not, the entire thing made Casey uncomfortable.

"We're getting close to town," Casey said. "You should move back over and put your seat belt on before some highway patrol officer spots us."

A momentary look of confusion etched April's face and then she scooted back onto the passenger side of the van and snapped on her seat belt. They continued on into town in silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Casey and April had departed the house, Don went back into the living room with Mikey. As the younger turtle became engrossed in a cartoon, Don set to work repairing the wiring inside one of the lamps. Mikey's earlier misadventure with the electricity had done a number on several things around the house.

Don could hear Leo in the kitchen chopping up vegetables, one of the only chores he was allowed to do in there. Their older brother was notorious for the inedibility of his cuisine.

About fifteen minutes after their two human friends had left Raph finally came out of the bathroom. He was holding something stretched between his hands as he descended the staircase and entered the living room.

"Get a load of this," Raph said loudly enough to garner the attention of all three of his brothers.

The item he was referring to was April's leggings. They were mud spattered and the feet were almost completely torn out of them.

"Where did you find those?" Leo asked, frowning as he inspected the holes.

"In the bathroom trash bin," Raph said. "Guess we know why she wasn't wearing them today."

"She has more," Don said absently, not thinking how that might sound.

"How would you know?" Raph immediately asked, a wicked grin on his face.

"Donnie goes through her stuff when she's not around," Mikey said, stating it as though it was an established fact.

"I do not," Don protested heatedly, flushing when Raph and Mikey snickered at his discomfiture.

"When did she do this?" Leo asked, ignoring his sibling's byplay. "It certainly wasn't night before last when you discovered her outside, Don."

"No it wasn't," Don said in agreement. "She was in her pajamas, just like when she woke us all up because she saw that woman standing outside. It had to have been last night. April fell asleep on the couch fully clothed."

"So she went wandering around in the dark again," Raph said. "Alone. April ain't usually that dumb."

"Maybe she was tired of you teasing her about the mystery woman," Don told him pointedly. "She probably wanted to find something that would prove she was right."

"And she's been acting weird ever since," Raph shot back. "You spent time hanging with her today, tell me she was her regular old self."

That stopped Don. He couldn't deny that Raph was right. "Her conversation was . . . odd," Don admitted.

"Odd how?" Leo asked.

Don bit the inside of his lip, trying to decide how much of his talk with April she would expect be kept confidential. "She seemed to be worried about her safety," he finally said. "She asked me a couple of times if I would protect her if something were to happen."

"Is she afraid of that woman she saw?" Raph asked, the subject turning to something he could understand. "Did the woman say something to her?"

Although Don opened his mouth to reply, Mikey beat him to it. "Ghosts don't talk, they eat your face. Unless they want something else from you. Then they break things until you banish them or give in. Or they eat your face."

Mikey seemed completely convinced of his theory, just as he was with most of the outlandish things he came up with. Mostly his brothers ignored his outbursts because it was easier than arguing with him about them.

"As far as I know, April only saw that woman the one time," Don said. "When we talked today April never even mentioned her."

Holding up the leggings, Raph said, "Maybe she's not talking about her, but April is sure thinking about her. You think she'll try to sneak out again tonight?"

"I'll talk to her when she and Casey return," Leo said. "She can be very stubborn when she has an idea fixed in her head, but going out alone isn't smart, no matter her intentions. If April feels as though we should keep a watch for this mystery woman, then we'll do it as a team."

"Suppose she tells you she's not going out looking for the woman anymore?" Raph asked, displaying his skepticism about that.

Apparently Leo felt the same. "Then I'll pretend to accept that answer and we'll keep a watch behind her back. Something odd is going on and we need answers."

"We need dinner too," Mikey said, heading for the kitchen to finish what Leo had started. Turning in the doorway, he called back, "If you really want answers, you'd better learn how to talk to ghosts."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The little town where they bought their supplies was simple in its offerings but somehow April managed to spend two hours shopping.

Besides the incredible number of cosmetics and hair care products that April purchased, she also dragged Casey to a small boutique. Too his displeasure, April insisted that she had to try on what Casey felt certain was the store's entire clothing selection.

As impatient as he was, Casey did have to admit that April looked awesome in a few of the outfits, which she happily modeled for him. That was the only reason they remained in town for so long, otherwise he'd have made a bigger fuss about getting a move on.

Casey finally did get April back to the van, but that was because the stores were closing and the town was rolling up its sidewalks for the night. During the first part of the drive back to the farm house, April chattered on about fashion and changing styles. Other than nodding a few times, Casey wasn't required to offer his input, for which he was thankful.

As they drew closer to home, April quieted down. Casey half expected her to broach the subject they'd discussed on the drive in again, with her trying to talk him into the idea of ditching the turtles and heading out on their own. She didn't, though her demeanor changed perceptibly.

When they pulled up to the house and parked, April suddenly turned to face Casey.

"Please don't tell the turtles what we talked about," April pleaded, setting her hand on Casey's arm. "It would only upset them and then Donatello might do something rash."

"If you say this was a private talk between us then I can keep my mouth shut," Casey said. "I still think you're reading Don wrong."

"Thank you Casey," April said warmly. "I knew I could count on you."

Laden with shopping bags, Casey trailed along behind April as they entered the house.

Stepping into the entranceway from the living room, Don asked, "What took you guys so long?"

Lifting both of his arms, Casey displayed the various bags he was carrying. "April decided to buy out the town."

"Jones was such a patient fellow," April said, sliding the bags from his arms before starting upstairs. "I'll just take these up to my room. Cheerio!"

Don slowly set aside the project he was working on and watched April ascend to her room. As soon as the door shut behind her, Don turned to face Casey.

"There's something strange going on here," Don said.

Surprised that Don wasn't fussing at him for the hours he'd spent with April, Casey asked, "Like what?"

"April went outside again last night," Don said, keeping his voice down. "Raph found her leggings in the bathroom; they were covered in mud and the feet were shredded."

"So? Maybe Red wanted some fresh air," Casey said, standing toe to toe with the turtle. "You can't follow her around everywhere she goes."

"I can if I think she's in danger," Don retorted, getting into Casey's face. "That's the third night in a row and now she's not acting like herself."

"I wouldn't either if I had to deal with you always hounding me," Casey told him snidely.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Don asked, glaring at him.

"Dinner time!" Mikey yelled from right next to them, startling the pair into jumping back from each other. "Come and get it!"

Putting his hands over his ears, Don said, "We heard you Mikey."

"I think they heard you all over New England," Casey added.

"Well?" Mikey asked, making it clear he wasn't going anywhere until they did.

Shooting a nasty glance at Casey, Don turned and walked towards the kitchen. Casey stuck his tongue out and then followed, with Mikey bringing up the rear.

There were place settings on the table and both Leo and Raph were already seated, a bottle of ketchup indicating which spot Mikey had taken. Casey and Don chose seats that left an empty chair between them.

"My, isn't this civilized," April announced from the doorway.

Five heads turned in her direction and then the four seated males leaped to their feet. April had changed into a light weight, sleeveless summer dress with a short skirt. It was clearly one of her new acquisitions.

Don thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head. He'd never seen April dressed up so nicely and the new outfit certainly showed off her feminine attributes.

Having already seen her model the dress, Casey took advantage of Don's momentary lapse to pull the chair out for April and help to seat her. Don shook his head to clear it and saw the smug look Casey shot in his direction.

"I made a hearty beef stew with lots of yummy vegetables," Mikey announced as he returned to his meal preparation. "I was going to toss some jelly beans in for the added flavor, but I think I put the last of them on a pizza."

"Thank goodness for small favors," Raph mumbled.

Mikey came to the table with two steaming bowls, which he set in front of Leo and Raph. He went back for two more, placing them before Casey and Don. It took him an extra few seconds to prepare the final two bowls, and then one he put on the table in front of his chair and the last went to April.

"This smells good, Mikey," Leo said, lifting his spoon.

Sliding into his chair, Mikey grinned around at everyone. "Dig in."

Raph took a spoonful and tentatively tasted it. Blinking in amazement, he said, "Hey, this ain't bad."

April watched the guys begin to eat, her nose curling up at the slurping sounds they were making, before she daintily dipped her spoon into her bowl. Lifting it to her lips, April blew on it lightly and then transferred the contents to her mouth.

A split second later the spoon clattered to the table and April clutched at her throat with a strange gurgled cry. Bounding out of her chair, April's knees hit the underside of the table and her bowl bounced onto its side, stew splattering her dress.

"April!" Don cried out, darting towards her as April continued to gag.

TBC….


	6. Chapter 6

Heartless  
part 6

Bent over and coughing, April reached out for Don, latching onto his arm as he came up next to her.

"Water," April wheezed in a voice that barely registered.

Turning to look at Casey, who was nearest, Don said, "Bring some water, quick."

Casey was capable of swift movement when needed and he returned with a full glass of water in less than a second. Taking it from him, Don held it against April's lips and helped her to take a swallow.

The first sip eased her panting breaths enough for her to drink a mouthful. The coughing slowed and with another gulp of water, stopped altogether.

Straightening, April released a shuddering sigh and then blurted, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Though her bowl was lying on its side, most of the contents dripping onto the floor, there was a bit of liquid still inside of it. Leo used his spoon to taste a sample, which he promptly spit into a napkin.

"Salt," Leo said, appearing disgusted. Turning to his youngest brother, he asked, "Mikey?"

"Ghosts don't like salt; I saw that on TV. I thought that if April was really salty the ghost would leave her alone," Mikey explained, his eyes bright and helpful.

Don started to say something but April cut him off. "I don't know why you keep going on about ghosts, but trying to kill me is inexcusable," she told Mikey. "Your brothers put up with your idiocy because they have no choice. I for one would feel safer if you slept in the barn with the other mindless creatures."

Mikey's face fell. "That's harsh," he said, lip quivering.

"Lay off of him April," Raph said gruffly. "He thought he was doing the right thing."

"The concept of him _thinking_ is laughable," April shot back, her glare still focused on Mikey. "Really Michelangelo, you could at least make some effort to use your brain. I'm quite sure you have one, however small, rolling around up there somewhere."

Raph took a step towards her. "If you want to talk about problems, how about we deal with yours? What's your damage anyway? You've been acting like you think you're some kind of princess for the . . . ."

"I'm going upstairs to change," April interrupted haughtily, shoving Don away from her. Spinning on her heel, April flounced out of the kitchen.

Silence followed her exit. The guys stood there for a moment before Leo started cleaning up the mess.

"You could have told her what you wanted to do," Don said quietly, addressing Mikey. "You could have warned her."

"But if the ghost already has her, it would be warned too," Mikey said. "Duh."

"I thought you put the salt in there to protect her from the ghost," Raph said and then face palmed. "What the heck, now he's got me doing it. There's no ghost, Mikey."

Leo deposited April's bowl in the sink and rinsed out the towel he'd used to sop up the spilled stew from the table and floor. "Let's finish our dinner. If April is hungry later, she can come and get some untainted stew. Right, Mikey?" he asked pointedly.

"Sure," Mikey replied agreeably, taking his seat and returning to his meal.

There wasn't much talk after that. Everyone at the table seemed lost in their own thoughts, including Donatello. Mikey's trick with the salt had started him speculating and he didn't like where his mind was taking him.

For one thing he recalled his conversation with April from earlier in the day. She'd made a point of disparaging Casey, even going so far as to intimate that she was scared of the boy. Then only a few hours later she was insisting he take her into town, making it clear that she wanted no other company.

Upon their return, Casey had immediately become antagonistic, hinting that Don was a stalker. It made the genius wonder if April had initiated a conversation during their drive that had followed along the same lines as the one she'd had with Don.

One by one the guys began to leave the table. It was Casey's turn to wash up and he started running the dish water, coming back to the table to clear it.

When Don got up to go, Casey suddenly whispered, "Meet me in the barn later."

Confused by the request, Don nonetheless nodded his assent before joining his brothers in the living room.

Assuming from Casey's conspiratorial whisper that their meeting was to be a secret, Don said nothing about it to his brothers. Once they were safely engaged in a movie, Don announced, "Got some work to finish in the barn."

Raph lifted a hand to acknowledge he'd heard, but neither Leo nor Mikey even bothered to look in Don's direction. His working in the barn at all hours was completely normal to them and therefore unremarkable.

There had been no sign of April since she'd stormed upstairs and for once Don hoped he wouldn't see her. Whatever Casey had in mind for their meeting, it would be better without an audience.

Donatello reached the barn first and began to tinker with one of his projects as he waited. He'd only been at it for a quarter of an hour before he heard the door creak open and turned to see Casey enter.

Carefully closing the barn door behind him, Casey approached the lanky turtle. Don watched him carefully, noting that Casey appeared pensive rather than combative.

"We've gotta talk about April," Casey blurted.

"Not I hope your belief that I'm hounding her," Don said, eyeing the boy warily.

"Forget that," Casey responded, waving it away. "That's April's belief, I mean, it's not really what April feels it's . . . oh heck."

"What are you talking about?" Don asked, baffled by how unsure of himself Casey was behaving.

"Look, I know this is gonna sound nuts, but hear me out," Casey said, looking sincere. "I think Mikey might be onto something. You remember when you, me, and April fought that Chinatown ghost? We can't really say there's no such thing anymore, can we?"

"You think Mikey might be right about a ghost being after April?" Don asked, staring hard at Casey.

"You got a better explanation?" Casey countered.

Don scratched his chin, feeling uncertain about how much of his thoughts he should share with Casey. Finally he said, "Oh what the heck. No, I don't have any other explanation and yes, I not only think that woman was a ghost, but I think she already _has_ April."

If Casey's eyes could have fallen out of his head, they would have at that moment. "I knew it! I knew something was way off about her. It ain't just how she's dressing or that weird British sounding accent, it's what she says. April would never say the stuff that's been coming out of her mouth today."

In that moment Don decided to be honest with Casey. He was sure that would be the only way to save April from whatever was happening to her.

"April wanted to talk to me after practice today," Don said. "I think her asking me for water was an excuse to get me alone."

"What did she want to talk about?" Casey asked, though from his expression Don had a sense that he'd already guessed.

"She wanted me to believe that you'd harm her," Don answered. "She tried to tell me that she thinks your temper is so bad you could hurt her."

Casey had started nodding partway through Don's words. "Then she asked you to protect her, right?"

"That was the gist of it," Don said. "Same for you?"

"Yep. She said we could run off together and leave saving the city from the Kraang to you guys," Casey told him. "Then she said she didn't think you'd let her leave and might poison her. Made me wonder for a minute there in the kitchen when she started choking."

"I would never hurt April," Don said indignantly.

Casey chuckled. "That's what I told her. I said you weren't that kind of guy and that you'd never do anything bad to either of us. You know what she said to that? She said 'not if we got to him first'."

Don had to process that revelation and then said, "Is she trying to get us to hurt each other?"

"Or worse," Casey guessed. "When we got back here she wanted me to promise not to tell anyone about our talk. I told her I could keep my mouth shut, but I figure I made that promise to a ghost, not to April. I don't owe a ghost anything."

"A ghost who's possessing our April," Don clarified.

"Right. Might as well just say it out in the open. April's possessed. So what do we do about it?" Casey asked.

"We figure out how to get it out of April," Don said with determination. "First off, it seems that Mikey's salt trick actually works, so we need to know more about that."

"And anything else we can find out about ghosts," Casey said. "Do you think this one was trapped in something and got free, like that last ghost?"

"That's the second thing on the list. We need to learn who that ghost might be and how she came to be a ghost," Don said, beginning to pace.

"How are we gonna do that? You gonna look up local ghost legends on that junky laptop you made?" Casey asked, moving his head to follow Don's movements.

"Actually I am," Don said a touch smugly. "I'll research how to deal with ghosts while I'm at it. The problem is that if there's nothing on the internet about ghost sightings in this area, we'll have to rely on newspaper accounts to tell us who might have become a ghost."

"I used to watch these old movies from the nineteen thirties with my old man and he said that the women did all kinds of stuff to their hair," Casey said. "I remember him saying something about pin curls 'cause I thought they stuck pins in their heads to keep the curls in place."

Although Casey looked quite serious as he recounted this bit of information, Don couldn't help but snort laughter.

"I was six, give me a break," Casey said in self-defense. "Anyway, the point is that I remember that's what April was fussing about just before she insisted that she had to go shopping."

Don snapped his fingers, catching onto what Casey was saying. "That's how we narrow our search," he said excitedly. "Look for a woman who went missing around here in the nineteen thirties. That means accessing old newspaper files which may not be on the internet."

"How do we get at them then?" Casey asked.

"You'll have to go into town tomorrow and see if they have a newspaper office or a library," Don said. "One or the other should have archives where you can do some research."

Casey appeared stricken. "Research? Me? I'm the one who was failing my high school classes, remember?"

"It's not that hard, Casey. It's mostly reading," Don told him.

Groaning, Casey said, "Reading. So~o boring! I prefer to just hit stuff."

"Well you can't hit April," Don stated in a no nonsense fashion. "Until we know more you can't do anything else. Oh, I just thought of something."

"What?" Casey asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The smell," Don said. "It's odd, but I could swear I smelled something damp and rotting when April breathed on me."

"Me too!" Casey exclaimed, suddenly animated. "In the van on our way to town. She slid over next to me when she was trying to make her point about you and I smelled nasty water. I thought we were near a creek that was drying out or something. It had to have been coming from April."

"Not April; the ghost," Don corrected, stopping in front of Casey. "That's another clue. I remember the mist that seemed to cling to the meadow was very wet. Before she changed, April said something to me about how when she was a girl and would rise early with her dad, there was rarely a mist out there. I haven't seen one the entire time we've been here."

"There sure was one the night April woke us all up," Casey said. "Last night too if you wanna go by the mud on those torn up leggings of hers."

"The second night as well," Don said. "I saw it when I found April wandering around out there alone."

"It shows up with the ghost?" Casey asked incredulously.

Don glanced towards the door. "What do you want to bet there's no mist tonight?"

"No takers," Casey said wryly. "How are we gonna do this tomorrow without April's ghost finding out anything?"

"We'll have to talk to my brothers," Don answered. "You can take off in the van when she's busy in the house. Leave early and you can probably be out of here before she comes downstairs. I'll work from here and we can talk over the T-Phones. My bros will have to keep April occupied so she doesn't catch me."

"Don't include Mikey, she doesn't like him," Casey said. "I noticed it this morning and then all day today she was avoiding him or being plain nasty. The salt thing isn't gonna make him her favorite now either."

"It's because she knew he'd figured out her secret. He did too," Don said thoughtfully. "I wonder how much of April's psychic ability the ghost has tapped into. That could be a problem."

"April's gotta still be in there someplace. She'll fight back," Casey said, nodding his belief of that as a fact.

"We'll probably need her to when the ghost finds out what we're doing," Don said. "Tomorrow Mikey can stay in here with me. We'll tell her he's helping me with something and that should keep her out of the barn."

"Why'd the ghost want April anyway?" Casey asked. "I mean, if she's been around for over eighty years what was she waiting for? There has to have been plenty of people she could have possessed."

Don's forehead creased in thought. "I'm going to speculate here, but this sounds right. Suppose it's not that easy for a ghost to possess someone. Forget what the movies and TV shows give us on the subject, that's just stuff some writer made up. If a ghost is actually residual psychic energy, then it wouldn't have the necessary strength to push aside another life force in order to inhabit their body."

Casey's look was concentrated. "Okay, I follow. Go on."

"Well we were worried about April's own psychic gifts right? Maybe the ghost rode in on April's power, like it was . . . like . . . ." Don broke off, having a hard time articulating his theory.

"Like April was a big battery that recharged the ghost's cells?" Casey guessed.

Don looked at him in surprise. "Yes, exactly like that."

"But April lived here when she was little and has been coming back here every summer with her dad," Casey said. "How come it didn't latch onto her before now?"

"Because April's psychic gifts didn't begin to manifest themselves until recently," Don said. "Before then they were completely dormant. April had no idea that she had them until Master Splinter began to work with her."

"Yeah, well I've got another question," Casey said. "Why does the ghost want . . . ."

Before he could finish the sentence, his words were cut off by the creak of the barn door being flung open. Casey and Don spun around, eyes wide.

"Ah ha! I knew you'd be in here!"

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Heartless  
part 7

A triumphant Michelangelo stood in the open barn doorway, grinning like the Cheshire cat at Don and Casey.

Before either of them could speak, Mikey looked over his shoulder and said, "I told you they were in the barn."

Don's heart leaped into his throat, fully expecting to see April pop in behind his brother, but to his intense relief, it was only Leo and Raph who appeared.

"Mikey insisted that you were in here together," Leo said. "We told him that's not unusual because you've both got projects in the barn."

"He said the only project you've got is April," Raph said, picking up the explanation. "Mikey told us you two knew the truth about whatever's going on with her and we had to get in here and help you figure out what to do."

"About the ghost," Mikey said complacently. "The one that's got her."

"Please tell me he's nuts," Raph said, looking grim.

Don could see by Raph's expression that his brother suspected that Mikey had it right. "I wish I could," Don said. "Casey and I have come to the same conclusion. We're sure that April's been possessed by a ghost; the ghost she saw in the meadow two nights ago."

"Possessed?" Leo asked. "When did it happen?"

"Last night," Casey answered. "Yesterday she said she didn't sleep well and was acting tired all day. Then today she was different, real different."

Don turned quickly to look at Casey. "Remember what I said about the ghost using April's psychic power? I'll bet it started draining her night before last, the first time April went outside without us. Our presence during the original encounter must have shielded her from the ghost."

"Speaking of April, did anyone bother to make sure she didn't see you guys come in here?" Casey asked, addressing the new arrivals.

"When Mikey started whispering that we had to go out to the barn without April knowing about it, I ran upstairs and listened at her door," Leo said. "The only sound I heard was her even breathing. She's asleep."

"Maybe April still has some control," Raph said. "Maybe she's fighting that thing inside of her. If what Donnie says about her powers is true, then both of them wrestling for control would wear April out, no matter who's driving the bus."

"All right, how do we rid April of that ghost?" Leo asked, getting straight to the point.

Don and Casey exchanged glances and then Don began to tell his brothers all that they had discussed. As he talked, he watched their expressions, seeing Leo grow more concentrated, Raph become grimmer, and Mikey become more animated, as if he was barely containing the need to blurt something out.

". . . so Casey and I figured that the best way to tackle the ghost is to learn more about her. Casey will head to town early tomorrow, before April wakes, and do some field work. Meanwhile, I'll research everything I can online. We'll remain in constant communication and coordinate our efforts. Thanks to Mikey and the bad reaction April had to his doctored stew, we know that ghosts don't like salt. There's probably a lot of lore about ghosts to sift through and the trick is going to be finding the stuff that actually works," Don concluded.

By the time Don neared the end of his recitation, Mikey had begun to prowl around the barn, searching for something. As soon as he heard Don draw to a close, Mikey bounced back over to the group, carrying a long metal rod.

"Iron," Mikey said smugly. "That's another thing that repels ghosts. If you want April to stay out of here while you work D, then you should plant iron stakes in front of the door."

Raph lifted a heavy towing chain from the back of the truck. "Do we have to turn her into a giant shish kebob, or can we just lay this down across the doorway?" he asked sarcastically. "How do you know that iron even works, you catch that on a cartoon?"

"The salt worked didn't it?" Mikey countered.

"That was sheer dumb luck," Raph said. "What else do you think you know?"

"We have to find her bones," Mikey immediately answered, lowering his voice and continuing in sepulchral tones. "I saw that on TV too. They said ghosts are bound here by some object, usually their earthly remains."

"Oo-ee-oo," Raph intoned, teasing his brother.

Leo stepped between them, his presence ending an argument before it could start. Focused on Don, Leo said, "We should wrap this up, there's no guarantee that the ghost won't use April's gifts to sense that we're out here. You've told us your research plans but what about Raph and I? What do you want us to do?"

"Keep her busy," Don said. "Don't give her time to wonder what the rest of us are up to or to try to access April's power. Suck up to her, anything so she's fully occupied."

"Ask her to model her new clothes for you," Casey said. "The ghost seems to get a big kick out of that."

"Wait on her," Don added. "Fetch things for her, pamper her, spoil her."

Raph's face scrunched up in disgust and he crossed his arms over his plastron. "I am not going to be some ghost's toady!"

Leo set his hand lightly on Raph's shoulder. "Yes we are. This is for April. We have to do whatever it takes to free her."

For a moment Raph remained stubbornly silent, glaring at Leo. His brother met his glare placidly, waiting for Raph to reach the only logical conclusion.

Dropping his arms, Raph said, "Fine. I'll do it for April, but she's going to owe me big time."

"All right. Casey needs to be out of here at daybreak," Don said as he finalized their plans. "Mikey and I come straight in here. If for some reason April starts in this direction, warn us and Mikey will step out of the barn. She's allergic to him right now and probably won't want an encounter with him. If she still insists on coming inside, he can delay her long enough for me to hide what I'm working on."

"I'll pack a basket of food," Mikey said cheerfully. "No point in starving."

"Let's go in now. If you think of anything else, share it with us in the morning," Leo directed.

Casey and Don brought up the rear of the procession out of the barn. Don had just pulled the door closed when Casey stopped him with a hand on Don's arm.

"Hey, I just remembered what I was going to ask you before Mikey came in," Casey said. "Why does that ghost want you and me to fight? That sure seemed like what she was angling for."

Don shook his head. "Why does a ghost want anything? I don't know, maybe she just needs to wreak havoc or get vengeance for something. She probably didn't realize that the way she was behaving and the things she was saying to us was so out of character that we'd know it wasn't April."

"Yeah, she didn't count on us knowing April so well," Casey agreed. "Still, that stuff she said about you was pretty harsh. She knew things that had to come from April."

"Same for what she said about you," Don told him, looking stricken. "Just remember, that wasn't April insulting us, it was the ghost. She's accessing April's memories of the things we've said about each other, but none of that is what April feels."

"I'd like to kick that ghost's butt," Casey said, his hands clenching into fists. "I don't care if you say stuff about me, but I don't wanna hear it coming out of April's mouth."

"We'll both kick her butt," Don said, moving towards the house, "starting first thing tomorrow."

Raph was waiting for them at the front door. He lifted a finger to his lips as they approached and when they were closer, he whispered, "Leo went up to check on her. April's still asleep. If you want her to stay that way, don't make any noise."

Leaving Raph to lock up for the night, everyone else headed off to their beds.

Don got very little sleep. Every time he'd start to doze off, some new concern would wake him, his mind racing with the worry that they wouldn't be able to free April. This spirit, or ghost, or entity, whatever it should properly be called, had a second chance at life inside a powerful host. It probably wouldn't give up easily.

Rising early, Don gathered everything he thought he might need for the day into a worn duffel bag. Taking no chances, he peeked into the hallway, making sure that April's door was still firmly closed. Hearing no sounds in the house, he stole downstairs on silent feet.

When Don reached the kitchen, he was only mildly surprised to find that Leo was already there.

"Is anyone else awake?" Don asked.

"No," Leo said. "I was waiting for you in case you'd come up with any changes to the plans during the night."

Of course Leo had taken it for granted that Don hadn't slept much. "I examined it forward and back," Don said. "This is our best course of action. The ghost can't know we're onto it before we understand what and who we're dealing with."

They heard a jingle of keys and looked towards the door. A second later Casey and Mikey walked in.

"This early bird stuff is for the . . . the birds," Casey announced, yawning widely.

"Good one," Mikey said with a laugh. He was carrying a dusty wicker basket that had seen better days. Flourishing it he added, "For our picnic."

"We're going to be in the barn for most of the day Mikey," Don reminded him.

Mikey shrugged as he began tossing things into the basket. "If the food comes out of a picnic basket, then it's a picnic."

Casey helped himself to a hard-boiled egg from the refrigerator and poured milk into a plastic cup. "Breakfast for the road," he said. "I'm leaving now so there's no chance of April seeing me."

"You'll probably have to wait a couple of hours for things in town to open," Don warned him. "Let me know as soon as they do so we can start coordinating the record search."

"I'll set my phone alarm and take a nap," Casey said. "I couldn't stay asleep last night."

Don glanced at Leo. "You and Raph will have to entertain April until you get the all clear sign. That will be when Casey returns. Until then, keep her out of hearing distance of the barn."

"We'll do what we have to," Leo assured him.

"I'm gone then," Casey said, exiting through the kitchen door. He'd parked the van a little ways from the house so the sound of the engine was faint as he started it up and drove off.

Mikey snapped the lid to the basket shut and beamed at Don. "All ready. Let's go to work!"

"He is way too enthusiastic for this time of the morning," Don grumbled, watching Mikey practically bounce out of the house.

Looking quite serious, Leo said, "Mikey knows some surprising things. Listen to him on this one."

Don quirked at eye ridge. "After his guess about this being a ghost and then the salt incident, trust me I will," he promised and then followed his younger brother to the barn.

The inside of the barn was a dark place with the door closed so the first thing Don did was to turn on the various work lights. Then he cleared a space on his work table and set up his laptop.

Meanwhile, Mikey took the towing chain that Raph had so helpfully pointed out and set it down in a semi-circle in front of the door. Once that was done, he opened the basket and extracted a large canister of salt, winking at Donnie before sprinkling some of it on top of the iron chain.

Taking that as a good starting place, Don began his research on ghost lore by investigating both salt and iron. He learned from various sites that the reason salt is used to deter ghosts is because it is thought to be a pure and very earthly substance. Ghosts, being impure and unnatural, were repelled by salt.

Don learned that the lore about iron was the reason many old cemeteries are enclosed by iron fencing, because it supposedly kept the spirits in. It had to do with a theory that ghosts use electromagnetic energy to manifest and that using a conductor of electricity, like iron, one could drain or ground out the energy of a spirit.

He was so immersed in his research that Don barely noticed Mikey, who had pulled up a stool and was reading over his brother's shoulder. Time passed quickly as Don grew more fascinated by the subject, an interest that was obviously shared by Mikey.

Suddenly a voice crackled over Don's speakers, making both turtles jump. _"There's no newspaper office in town,"_ Casey said without preliminaries. _"They've got a library though. I just saw a lady open it up, so I'm headed inside."_

"You're using the wireless earpiece I gave you I hope," Don said. "Librarians aren't too keen on people talking on their cell phones."

" _Yeah, yeah, I've got it in and my hair's covering it,"_ Casey told him. _"You worry too much."_

"Don't give me anything to worry about and I won't," Don shot back. "I checked the internet for any news stories dating from the nineteen thirties for this area but didn't find anything. When you get inside, ask the librarian if they have any records dating from that period. We don't want books, we want actual news stories."

" _Gotcha,"_ Casey said.

Don waited a couple of minutes and then heard Casey greet someone and make his request. Whoever he was talking to replied in a low voice and Don couldn't catch what they said. After that he heard Casey agree to something and then say thank you.

"What's going on?" Don asked, keeping his voice down to encourage Casey to monitor his own verbal volume.

" _The lady here said something about a fish,"_ Casey whispered. _"Said she's gonna show me to the fish. I'm following her down to the basement."_

"Not fish," Don said, barely containing a laugh. " _Fiche_ as in microfiche. It's a way for libraries with limited space to keep records. She'll be showing you to a machine that will magnify transparent film that stores printed information in miniaturized form."

" _Sounds like tons of fun,"_ Casey replied lugubriously.

The librarian who was helping Casey spoke again and after waiting a few minutes, Don heard something that sounded like a box thumping against a table top. Casey asked her how to use the machine and Don was amused at how her instructions came across to him as barely a murmur. He wondered if she ever talked in a louder voice after spending years tending to a library.

Finally there was a sigh of relief and Casey said, _"She's gone. There's a couple of people down here who came in when I did and act like this is their second home. You'd fit right in to this place."_

"I wish I was the one who was there," Don muttered. "Do you know what you're doing?"

" _It's just a machine, how hard can this be?"_ Casey asked. _"She gave me a file case of film for something called the 'Daily Hampshire Gazette'. Everything's filed under tabs with dates on them. We said nineteen thirties right? Any chance you can narrow that down?"_

"Not from the information we have," Don said. "Start in the middle at nineteen thirty-five. And keep your voice down."

" _Whiner,"_ Casey whispered.

There were muffled sounds which Don took to be Casey loading the reader and beginning his search. In a couple of minutes Casey grunted.

"Find something?" Don asked.

" _How do I find anything with stuff whizzing by on the screen?"_ Casey complained. _"It's making me sea sick."_

From somewhere in the background came the sound of someone shushing Casey. _"Sorry, just talking to myself,"_ Casey told them.

"Suck it up," Don said. He was still researching ghost lore and Mikey was helpfully pointing out things on the laptop screen. It was the first time Mikey had ever worked with him in a constructive way and Don had to figure it was because this subject matter interested the younger turtle.

After that warning, the only noises Casey made were a periodic humming and the occasional groan. Don could picture him, face screwed up in concentration, back hunched as he stared at the screen. To amuse himself, Don also imagined that Casey moved his lips as he read.

" _Wait, I think I'm onto something,"_ Casey finally said. _"Front page nineteen thirty-six. It's a news story about how some big shot family named Fenwick is returning to their country estate from Boston. Says that 'the honorable Ruth Haverstock' of London society is going to be staying with them on an extended visit."_

"That's it," Don said excitedly. "That has to be it. Keep going, see if there's more about them in later stories. Check the society section."

" _I know how to read a newspaper,"_ Casey grumbled. _"Wish I'd have packed some aspirin."_

Again there was a shushing sound from behind him. _"I'm gonna play whack-a-mole with that guy's head in a minute,"_ Casey whispered.

"Do it after you find what we need," Don said.

" _Oh ho, this is juicier,"_ Casey said, sounding suddenly energized. _"Found myself a gossip column where they're talking about seeing the Fenwick boys, two cousins, at local events escorting the 'lovely Ruth Haverstock'. Seems the old biddy who wrote the column thought that Jonathan and Leopold were both smitten with Ruth."_

"Any description of Ruth?" Don asked. "We don't need to chase that story if she doesn't fit the description that April gave us of the woman she saw."

" _Yeah, hang on,"_ Casey said. In a second he was back, _"Young, dark hair, big brown eyes, comely . . . what the heck does that mean?"_

"It means she was attractive," Don answered. "That fits. What happened to her?"

" _I'm looking,"_ Casey said. _"More of the same, hmm, another story saying the cousins aren't getting along the way they used to, one hinting that Ruth is playing them both. She sounds like a piece of work."_

"She sounds like the ghost who has April," Don corrected. "Did she marry one of them? What happened?"

Casey didn't answer for a couple of seconds, but Don could hear the sounds of the machine being manipulated. Don had stopped typing to concentrate on what Casey was telling him and Mikey reached past him to continue the ghost research on his own.

" _Man, this is brutal,"_ Casey said and from his tone Don guessed he wasn't talking about his headache. _"Seems Jonathan Fenwick abruptly enlisted in the navy and took off without a word to his family. There are hints that he was heartbroken. I found another one dated a week later about how Leopold Fenwick returned to Boston alone. No one saw Ruth Haverstock after that, but it's reported that her luggage was sent on to London where it was assumed she'd returned."_

"Are there any reports confirming that?" Don asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

" _None,"_ Casey said _. "Hang on."_

"Look D, look," Mikey said when Casey stopped talking. He was pointing at an article he'd found involving burial in consecrated ground.

Don leaned forward and began to read. Consecrated ground, or what are more widely called cemeteries, are a place designated for the burial of the dead. There were differing customs amongst cultures, but assigning a place where the dead were to be located was common to most of them.

"They didn't bury her," Mikey whispered in Don's ear.

Turning to look at his brother, Don saw Mikey nodding wisely. Don started to ask how he could be so sure of this, when Casey interrupted them.

" _The last thing I can find about the Fenwick's and Ruth is that her family made inquiries regarding her whereabouts because she never returned home,"_ Casey said. _"No one seemed to know what happened to her."_

"She was murdered," Mikey said knowingly.

"We have to know more," Don said.

" _You ain't gonna get that from these papers,"_ Casey said. His words drew an immediate _shhh_ from someone to which Casey responded, _"There ain't anyone else here."_

A soft murmur followed his comment and Casey whispered to Don, _"It's just me and the librarian in here now and she's still shushing me. Can I go?"_

"Yes," Don said, an idea popping into his head. "First ask if there's a retirement home in the area. We need to find someone who was around here in nineteen thirty-six and see if they remember something about Ruth Haverstock."

" _I gotta interview old people?"_ Casey asked, sounding distressed.

"Just do it," Don told him. "I'm sure you'll live."

" _Maybe, but I won't enjoy it,"_ Casey shot back.

The turtle brothers heard Casey asking about nursing homes and then a rather lengthy soft spoken reply. From outside the barn came the sounds of voices; Leo's, Raph's, and April's.

Glancing quickly at Mikey, Don said, "Make sure they aren't coming near here."

"I'm on it," Mikey assured him, hopping off his stool and dashing towards the barn door.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Heartless  
part 8

"So you want to know about little Ruthie."

Casey nodded, then remembered his manners. "Yes sir, I do."

The ninety-year old man seated in a lawn chair across from him was a widower by the name of Harold Chalmers. He was a wiry fellow with gray fuzz on his head and face and so many wrinkles it was hard to see his eyes. What did show under his eyelids was a vivid blue that glinted with intelligence and no small amount of humor.

Casey had been put onto Mr. Chalmers by the head administrator of the Meadow Dale Nursing home. He'd extracted the information about said nursing home from the librarian, who seemed happy to be rid of him.

While Casey was tracking down someone who lived in the area during the nineteen thirties, he'd heard Don send Mikey to check on April's location. Casey hoped she wouldn't burst in on Don, forcing the turtle to cut off their communication link. As much as he hated to admit it, having Don walking him through their research was a lot better than trying to muddle through on his own. Casey would never tell Don that though.

"Gimmee a butt," Chalmers said leaning forward.

It took Casey a second to realize the old guy was talking about a cigarette. "I'm sorry, but I don't smoke."

"Probably better that you don't," Chalmers said, settling back again. "Supposed to be bad for your health. Can't say for sure, been smoking for almost eighty years and don't even have a cough."

"You're lucky sir," Casey said.

"Always have been," Chalmers replied with a chuckle. "'Cept when I lost Cora. My wife. She was a good woman. Not like that Ruth Haverstock."

Chalmers spit on the ground next to his chair when he said her name and turned a shrewd look on Casey.

"Tell me about her," Casey said.

"Why do you want to know?" Chalmers countered.

There was no way Casey could talk about a ghost inhabiting his girlfriend. As he hesitated, Don's voice piped up in his ear.

 _"Tell him you're doing research for a school history project,"_ Don said.

"I'm writing a history paper for school," Casey said, trying to look earnest.

"You don't strike me as the studious type," Chalmers remarked. "'Course with the way kids dress nowadays, you could be one of them idiot savants."

Casey heard Donnie snort and then murmur, _"He got the idiot part right."_

It took will power not to respond to that. Casey made a mental note to pay Don back for it later.

"Ruth Haverstock?" Casey asked, prompting the old man.

"She was a bad 'un," Chalmers said. "Mind you, the girl was pretty as a peach. Even a young boy like me could appreciate her looks. She talked funny; took some time to get used to that accent, but she didn't talk to me so I didn't have to worry about it. My mom and dad worked for the Fenwick family. Kept the house and yard, cooked and waited on people during meals and parties. We lived in a cottage on the grounds, which was pretty nice for the time. Better than where some of my friends lived."

He reached for the cup that was sitting on the table next to him and took a sip before continuing. "Most of the time the Fenwick clan stayed in Boston and the only thing we had to worry about was upkeep on the property. It sure was exciting when the family came down for a visit, especially when they brought guests along. That spring in thirty-six it was Ruth Haverstock. The honorable Ruth Haverstock they called her. Wasn't nothing honorable about that hussy."

"Was she mean?" Casey asked, thinking about the ghost.

"Not to show," Chalmers answered. "She were sly. Had them Fenwick cousins wrapped around her little finger. Before she came into the picture, Jonathan and Leopold were thick as thieves. Their fathers were brothers and those two acted like they were. Looked like each other too. Big handsome strapping boys they were. Turned many a girl's head, or so I heard from the garden gossip. Wasn't interested in none of them girls until Ruthie came along. They both fell for her."

"That's rough," Casey said.

Chalmers spit again. "That were cruel. She done it on purpose, probably to see if she could. Seen women like Ruthie since, they ain't worth a dime. Nice to look at but do it from a distance."

"I guess the cousins didn't keep their distance," Casey said.

"No they didn't," Chalmers said, nodding his head. "Don't know what those boys' parents were thinking having that girl around. Probably money. Ruthie's daddy was some fancy Lord back in England and the Fenwick brothers wanted to involve him in their business. Way I heard it from my parents when they thought I wasn't listening was Haverstock had connections and no money, and the Fenwick's were rolling in dough but didn't have much of a pedigree. My guess is they figured one of the cousins would land little Ruthie and they'd all become in-laws."

"That didn't happen did it?" Casey asked. "The newspaper said Jonathan went into the navy and Leopold went back to Boston alone. Ruth Haverstock was supposed to have returned to London."

"Supposed to have returned being the operative phrase here," Chalmers said with a wink. "There was a big dust up round these parts when her parents started asking where she was. That girl never did go home. I always figured she either run off with some bad egg, 'cause she was the type to fall for that kind, or she got herself killed."

 _"By who?"_ Don asked.

"Who would have killed her?" Casey asked in unison.

"One of the boys of course," Chalmers said, as if that was a natural conclusion. "Towards the end I think they was onto her tricks. She started trying to manipulate them, saying nasty things against Jonathan to Leopold, and the next way round when she was talking to Leopold about Jonathan. She had a big row with Jonathan just before he took off for the navy, and I heard her sobbing to Leopold about it the next day. They was in the garden and didn't know I was hiding there trying to listen to them. I was a boy mind you and didn't know better. Leopold was saying something to her about making things right. I remember it to this day 'cause I always tried to figure out what he was gonna make right."

"Did you ever guess?" Casey asked, way more interested in the eighty year old drama than he'd ever admit.

"Yeah," Chalmers said, shifting around in his seat. "Guessed a lot of stuff. My best one was that Ruthie finally slept with Jonathan in an attempt to hold onto him. Maybe he even got her preggers."

 _"So Leopold was offering to marry her. Why didn't he?"_ Don asked.

"Do you think Leopold was going to make things right by marrying Ruth?" Casey asked. "They didn't marry though. Not according to the papers."

"Nope. Either she run off with someone else, or one of the boys knocked her off. Could have been Jonathan, he could have snuck back, but most likely it was Leopold. Hard for a man to get cuckolded like she done him and then just take it."

 _"Ask him if anyone ever explored the possibility that Ruth had been murdered,"_ Don requested.

Casey had thought of that too. "Didn't anyone check into that when her family said she never came home?"

"Oh sure," Chalmers said, lifting a hand and waving the idea away. "Local constabulary made inquiries of the house. Geoffrey Fenwick, the elder, read him the party line and sent him away with a flea in his ear. Fenwicks had too much power. If anyone could get away with murder, it was them. No one ever came round asking questions again."

 _"I feel like we're forgetting something important,"_ Don said. Casey heard him snap his fingers. _"Ask him where the Fenwick mansion is."_

"The papers didn't say much about the Fenwick mansion," Casey said. "Where is it located?"

"Ain't located nowhere," Chalmers said. "Burned down back in forty-two. Family stopped coming out here after the Haverstock thing. My dad got a job in town and we moved."

"Where was it before it burned down?" Casey asked before Don could.

"Out off of what's called County Road two ninety-seven now," Chalmers replied.

 _"That runs right by the farm,"_ Don said excitedly. _"Casey, listen Casey, ask him if there's a big pond on the property."_

Having no idea why Don was so riled up, Casey humored him and asked, "Was there a big pond somewhere on the property?"

"Sure was. It's probably still there. The boys used to take that girl out in the rowboat when they was spooning her. She'd go first with one and then the other. Sometimes in the same day. Bad business that was," Chalmers said, yawning his way through the last sentence.

Casey could see he was getting sleepy. "Thank you for everything Mr. Chalmers. I appreciate the time."

"Glad to help," Chalmers said. "Remember son, marry a homely woman. My Cora was homely as they come and I never had a bad day with her."

His eyes closed and he slumped back against the chair cushion, snoring lightly. Casey left him there, making sure to tell an attendant that the old man was asleep under the birch tree. From her response it was clear that Mr. Chalmers did that often.

Back in the van, Casey asked, "What was that whole pond thing about?"

 _"Two days ago, before April was possessed, she told me that she and her father used to cut across the meadow to go to a fishing pond,"_ Don said. _"Remember how I told you that she said that back then she never saw a mist on the meadow during early morning hours?"_

"The wet smell!" Casey exclaimed. "It's coming from the ghost, isn't it?"

 _"Because her body is in the pond,"_ Don said.

 _"Told you she was murdered,"_ Mikey cut in. _"We have to find her bones and bury them."_

"What is he talking about?" Casey asked, starting the van.

 _"Our research on ghosts,"_ Don answered. _"I think that the only way to get her out of April is to bury her bones in consecrated ground."_

 _"He means a cemetery,"_ Mikey offered.

"How the heck do we find her bones in a pond?" Casey asked as he began driving back to the farm house. "They must be covered in silt after being there for eighty years."

 _"We're turtles Casey,"_ Mikey said merrily.

 _"There's an old metal detector here,"_ Don said. _"I think I can reconfigure it to ping off of collagen, one of the three main fractions of bone. It takes time to decompose, much longer than soft tissue. If her body is covered in silt that may have protected the bones, or at least some of them, from degradation and we'll be able to find them."_

 _"If her bones were gone the ghost wouldn't be here,"_ Mikey said, sounding as if he was delivering a lecture. _"That's logic D."_

"I'm on my way back," Casey said, "unless you can think of someplace else I need to stop."

 _"Get some salt,"_ Mikey called out to him. _"We're running low."_

 _"Get salt,"_ Don repeated. _"A lot of it. I have a feeling we're going to need it before this day is over."_

Though they stopped talking then, they left the communication channel open in case Don thought of anything he might need from Casey. After making a quick stop at the grocers for a half dozen canisters of salt, which drew some curious stares, Casey pushed the speed limit to get back to the farm house.

When he pulled into the yard, Casey saw that April was outside with Leo and Raph. She was gesticulating wildly, pointing at the barn and then at the pair of turtles, looking for all the world like a girl having a tantrum.

Casey exited the van, careful to lock the doors so that April wouldn't discover the salt he'd purchased. As he walked towards the threesome, April spun around to face him.

"Where have you been?" April asked. "Donatello is locked up in the barn with his completely mad brother, doing who knows what types of experiments, and you run off for hours. I am quite literally bored to tears."

"I ran into town for some newspapers," Casey said, holding up the papers he'd bought while at the store. "I was hoping there would be news about the city, but they're still talking about a quarantine."

"Next time wait for me and I'll go with you," April cooed in her most ingratiating tone, sidling up close to Casey. "We can make a day of it, maybe even go to a picture show. Doesn't that sound better than staying in this dreary little place constantly?"

"I thought we were having a good time together," Leo said, smiling at her.

April's head snapped around and she gave him an ugly look. "You thought wrong. I couldn't even get a single straight answer out of either of you. No one seemed to care what happened to my poor Casey." She turned to look up into Casey's eyes beseechingly. "I simply wanted to know if you were safe. When I went to the barn to demand an answer from Donatello, that insane little turtle who tried to poison me capered out and frightened me half to death. Really, I think he's mental."

"Michelangelo?" Casey asked. "He's harmless."

From the corner of his eye Casey could see Raph, his arms crossed and his glare growing more belligerent by the second. Casey could understand his buddy's frustration, this role playing stuff was aggravating. Raph and he were alike in that way, they'd both rather fight something head on. This information gathering spy junk was not how Casey did things. He had to keep reminding himself that pretending they didn't know April was possessed was the only way to keep her safe.

"He looks at me," April whispered. "That Michelangelo. I see him staring at me sometimes and it gives me shivers. I don't want to be around him. He says the most absurd things."

She had put her arm through his and now gently pushed against Casey to get him walking away from Leo and Raph. For the first time since meeting her, Casey found he didn't want to be alone with April, but it was better than staying near the hot headed turtle who looked like he might explode at any minute.

When Casey glanced back at them, he saw Leo had moved to stand beside his brother and was talking to him in a low voice. Apparently Leo could see that Raph was walking a fine line with his temper as well.

"I don't think any of them care to have us around," April continued as she and Casey walked towards the swing. "By 'us' I mean humans. Leonardo continues to try to mold me into a kunoichi and I truly think that is only because he likes the idea of having an attractive female under his control. Donatello doesn't care for you at all and it's just a matter of time before he convinces his brothers that you aren't necessary. He's probably got Michelangelo pulled round to his way already."

"That's kind of not fair April," Casey said, sitting on the swing with her because she tugged at him to do so. "We've watched each other's backs plenty of times. The six of us are like family."

Casey was starting to grow a little anxious. He hadn't liked any of the things he'd learned about Ruth Haverstock and trying to have a non-confrontational interlude with her ghost was hard. Not to mention the fact that each time she drew near him, the scent of stagnant water hit his nostrils and nearly made him gag. Hiding that from her was difficult.

April made a derisive sound in her throat. "Family? Really? Is that how you think of them? I guarantee they don't see _you_ in that way. Tell me that you haven't known how much Donatello wishes you were not here."

"That's only because of you," Casey blurted and then wished he'd bitten those words off before they came out. He saw the tiny self-satisfied smirk that lifted a corner of April's mouth. "I mean, that's normal for any guy who likes a girl to wish there was no competition. Don hasn't had any experience with girls, so it's doubly hard for him."

"You almost sound as if you feel sorry for Donatello," April said, looking at Casey appraisingly. "If something happened to you rest assured that he wouldn't shed a tear."

"I'd expect that he'd avenge me instead," Casey said, thinking back on the battles they'd fought together. "We can sort of not like each other and still have some respect."

April tittered, the tiny laugh sounding hollow to Casey's ears. "Avenge you? Not if he were the one that arranged for it to happen in the first place." Her hand came to rest on his knee as April gazed up into his eyes. "I would feel utterly terrible and quite responsible if you were to come to harm at his hands. There are four of them and just the two of us. Would it really be such a loss if they were no longer around? Would the world suffer if they were no longer a part of it? It isn't as though their lives have all that much worth, they can't even live in the open with the rest of us."

Casey could only stare at her in shock. She was sitting there, callously encouraging him to murder his best friends. Old Mr. Chalmers had it right, Ruth Haverstock was a bad one.

Don had to know that Casey was back by now and he hoped like anything that the brainy turtle was coming up with a plan. Without a hint of what he should be doing, all Casey could figure was that he was supposed to keep April occupied.

Leo and Raph were still in the yard and they were sparring, but it looked faked. They probably wanted to stay where they could see April and keep tabs on what she was doing. Casey had a feeling they were waiting for Don to make a move too.

"Well?" April/Ruth asked, obviously expecting some sort of answer.

Unable to think of what to say, Casey stammered, "I . . . I don't . . . ."

He was interrupted by the banging of the barn door as it was shoved open. Startled, everyone in the yard looked in that direction.

Mikey stood there, one arm akimbo, his fist planted on his hip. In the other hand he lofted a beat up looking metal detector above his head.

With a triumphant grin on his face, Mikey asked, "Who's ready to hunt?"

TBC….


	9. Chapter 9

"Casey's back," Mikey announced. He was peering through an opening in the slats on the barn wall. "April tackled him quick."

"You mean Ruth," Don said absently, his focus on the metal detector he was busily reconfiguring.

Mikey glanced back at him. "That's confusing. I think I should come up with a better name for them since they're sharing a body."

"Forget what I said," Don spoke quickly. "Just keep calling her April. If we slip and say anything else, that ghost will know we're onto her and we'll lose the element of surprise."

"You said you had a plan, tell me the plan," Mikey insisted.

Without taking his eyes from his work, Don said, "Where is everyone right now? Tell me their exact locations."

"Hmm," Mikey hummed, turning back to his spy hole. "Leo and Raph are pretend sparring in the yard and Aputh is dragging Casey to the swing."

Don groaned. "Aputh? That's terrible."

"It's your fault. You pressured me," Mikey complained.

"No I didn't. I told you _not_ to give them a name," Don said. "I don't suppose there's any way to get either Leo or Raph in here without drawing April's attention?"

"Nope, she's gonna see if either of them come this way," Mikey answered.

"We don't need that," Don said, screwing the cover back onto the metal detector. "For a few minutes there earlier I thought she was going to walk right over you to get in here."

"She did too," Mikey said cheerfully. "When I asked if she wanted to share some of my lunch she couldn't get away fast enough."

He was chuckling as Don snapped some fresh batteries in the detector and then verified that it was functional. "Come over here and stick out your arm," he told his brother.

Mikey skipped over to him and did as he was asked. Don ran the metal detector across the ground and over some metal parts without it making a sound. Then he held the search head up near Mikey's arm and was gratified to see the dial jump and to hear the detector chirp.

"It works huh?" Mikey asked.

"It works," Don said with a loud sigh. "Okay Mikey, pay attention. You're going to have to remember these instructions and relay them to Raph and Leo without letting April hear you."

"Can do," Mikey said.

"This detector is submersible, so you can take it into the water," Don said. "The bones are most likely at the bottom of the pond, probably near the center somewhere because whichever of the cousins killed Ruth, they'll want her body to be down deep."

"He weighted her down I'll bet," Mikey said, looking serious.

"Watch the dial," Don said, pointing to the control box. "When it moves that means you've found bones. Go slow so you don't swim right past them."

"Swim slow," Mikey repeated.

"Tell Leo and Raph what we learned about Ruth," Don said. "They will have to help you find her bones. Casey and I will stay here and keep her occupied so she doesn't catch on to what you three are doing. It's okay if she thinks you guys are going treasure hunting, in fact it's best if she thinks that's what we were working on this whole time we've been in the barn."

"When she sees the metal detector that's not really detecting metal, right?" Mikey asked.

"Right," Don said, hoping his instructions weren't getting lost somewhere in the soup of Mikey's cluttered brain.

He handed the bone detector to Mikey and went back to the work table to dump everything out of his duffel bag. Returning with it, he handed it to Mikey.

"Gather up every bit of bone and put it in here," Don instructed. "Once you guys have all of her bones, you've got to go cross country for a few miles to the old cemetery at the top of the hill near town."

"Where we dig a grave and bury the bones," Mikey said.

"Make sure you're inside the graveyard," Don said. "There's an iron fence around it, I remember seeing that. It should mean that's consecrated ground. I hope this works."

"Of course it will work," Mikey said, shouldering the empty duffel bag. "It never fails on TV. You and Casey better be ready when we start messing with her bones 'cause she's gonna know."

Startled, Don asked, "What do you mean she'll know?"

Mikey nodded sagely. "They always know. She'll get mad too."

"Oh great," Don said. Mikey started for the door and Don called out, "Wait, wait, wait! Do you know how to find the pond?"

"Sure D, we just cut across the meadow. That's where she keeps coming from right? I'll pretend I'm trying to detect something I can't detect when we go across so Rupril is fooled," Mikey said.

"Mikey, please stop with the names," Don said with a grimace.

"You'll be sorry we didn't name her," Mikey predicted. Grasping the barn door handle, he flung it open with a flourish, making the door slam against the side of the barn.

Don watched him strike a pose and ask, "Who's ready to hunt?"

Groaning, Don lowered his face into the palm of his hand. He hadn't actually meant for Mikey to make quite so big a show of his pretend treasure hunt. Ready to do damage control, Don rushed to the door.

His near panic drained quickly as Don took in the scene before him. Mikey was talking excitedly with Leo and Raph, but despite his overly exuberant appearance, his voice was too low for anyone else to pick up. Looking over to the swing, Don saw that April was pointedly ignoring Mikey. In fact, she was turned towards Casey with her back to the youngest turtle.

Thinking about it, maybe Ruth didn't simply dislike Mikey, maybe she was afraid of him. Michelangelo had an uncanny way of seeing the truth of things, sometimes with frightening clarity. It was Mikey who had known that Leatherhead had a good heart. It was Mikey who first claimed that the woman April had seen was a ghost.

Don began walking towards the swing, pausing only long enough near his brothers to tell a slightly confused looking Leo, "Just go with Mikey, he knows what has to be done." Those words he delivered with a grin, as though sharing a joke before continuing on.

Keeping his head down as he walked allowed Don to see the couple on the swing ahead of him as well as his brothers from the corners of his eyes. He felt relief when the three of them moved toward the meadow, with Mikey holding the converted metal detector towards the ground.

It was only when Don called out, "Hey you two," that April finally turned around. Don noticed her glance went past him to where Mikey had been, and then swept across to the meadow where she located him.

"What is _he_ doing?" April asked sharply.

"Who?" Don countered, refusing to turn his head and look in the direction she was indicating.

"Him. Michelangelo," April said, her voice dripping with scorn. "I do believe he's demented."

Don bit his tongue, reminding himself that it was Ruth speaking, not April. "Mikey saw that old metal detector in the barn a couple of days ago and has been bugging me to fix it for him. I think he just talked Leo and Raph into going on a treasure hunt with him."

He told the lie glibly and was gratified when April/Ruth accepted it with a sniff of disdain. The key now was to keep her busy while his brothers worked to locate Ruth's bones and give them a proper burial.

Judging from the anxious look on Casey's face, entertaining this vindictive ghost was not going to be a cake walk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay Mikey, tell us again what this metal detector is for?" Leo asked.

They were halfway across the meadow and April was out of earshot. Mikey's earlier explanation of what they were expected to do was rushed and in Mikey fashion, he'd skipped around so that nothing made sense.

"It's not a metal detector, it's a bone detector," Mikey said, correcting him.

"Bone detector, got it," Leo said. "Don modified it to find the ghost's bones."

"Bingo!" Mikey said, looking pleased that Leo had gotten it right. "Ruth's bones. Ruth Haverstock. That's the ghost's name."

"And she was murdered?" Raph asked, trying to help Leo sort out the tale.

"Yep, by Leopold," Mikey said. "That was Mr. Chalmers' guess, even though he said Jonathan could . . . ."

"Stop," Raph said, putting a halt to Mikey's rambling before it could begin. "We don't care who killed her, that was over eighty years ago. We have to find her, er, Ruth's bones and then do what with them?"

"Bury them," Mikey said. "Dig a grave in the cemetery and put her bones in it."

"Don thinks the bones are in a big pond across this meadow and on the other side of the road right?" Leo asked.

"The Fenwick pond," Mikey said. "Leopold put her there. April said she looked wet and Don and Casey both said she smelled like bad water."

"Ruth, the ghost," Raph clarified.

"That's the one," Mikey said. While they walked he continued to swing the detector back and forth over the ground.

"If we're looking for bones in the pond, then why are you doing _that_?" Raph asked, pointing at the detector.

"It's the show bro'," Mikey said, grinning at his rhyme. "Rupril has to think we're hunting for treasure."

"Rupr . . . oh, Ruth and April," Leo said, looking at Raph and rolling his eyes.

"She's a vengeful spirit," Mikey said, deepening his vocal tone in an attempt to sound eerie. "If she knows we're trying to banish her, she'll turn mean."

"Got news for you, she's already mean," Raph said sarcastically.

"Meaner," Mikey said. "Like using April's powers mean. Don't want her doing that 'cause Don and Casey are sitting ducks. She wants revenge on Jonathan and Leopold."

"What does that have to do with Don and Casey?" Raph asked, looking for all the world like he was getting a headache.

"Jonathan and Leopold are dead," Mikey said. "Pay attention. How can she get revenge on them now? Don and Casey, same situation, get it? That's why you should care who killed her."

"Because Jonathan and Leopold both cared for Ruth," Leo said, finally putting the garbled puzzle pieces together.

"Don and Casey fight over April," Mikey said. "See? Ruth was mean though, not like April. Ruth wanted Jonathan and Leopold to fight over her. She probably said stuff to get them to do it."

"That's what she's been doing with Don and Casey too," Raph said. "Don told us last night about the things she's said to each of them when she's had them alone. I'd like to wring her neck!"

"You can't wring a ghost's neck, it's already dead," Mikey said.

"Then we'll do the next best thing and find her bones and stick them in a nice, deep hole," Raph said grimly.

"The road's coming up," Leo said, crouching down.

His brothers followed his example, listening for cars as they moved closer to the dividing road. It wasn't much travelled normally but they weren't taking chances since it was still daylight.

Seeing that all was clear, they dashed across to the other side as quickly as they could. The meadow continued on the Fenwick side of the road for a little ways, and then they began to see a few trees and shrubs. It wasn't long before the turtle brothers smelled water.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, what shall we do now that the others have finally left the three of us to ourselves?" April asked, looking much too satisfied with herself. "Something fun I hope?"

That question set Don's mind whirling. The one thing he knew for sure was that he did not want to be stuck inside the house with her once Ruth's bones were discovered. Casey was staring at him and Don didn't have to be a mind reader to know the boy was having the same thought. It was also clear that Casey didn't know how to answer her.

Then Don remembered the time period that Ruth was from and an idea struck him. "How about we play a game of croquet? I saw a croquet set in the barn. Casey can get us some cold drinks while I dig out the set and lay out the gaming area."

April straightened on the seat and clapped her hands together merrily, seeming delighted about something for the first time. "Croquet! What a wonderful idea. I haven't played in ages. I was quite good at the game once."

"I'm sure you haven't lost your touch," Don said diplomatically. He knew that the game had been extremely popular in London around Ruth's father's time and that as a part of London society, he'd probably been a member of the All England Croquet Club. His interest would no doubt have been passed along to a young Ruth.

Getting the croquet court all set up and then playing a couple of games would hopefully buy Don's brothers the time they needed to find Ruth's bones. The game would also focus April/Ruth's attention outside of herself and with any luck, prevent her from sensing what the other turtles were doing until it was too late.

Don and Casey walked side by side, leaving April on the swing. As they neared the point where they'd split off from each other, Don whispered, "Take your time. Make lemonade. I'll grab the croquet set and get April to help me set up the court. When she isn't looking your direction, get the salt out of the van and leave it stacked next to the tires where she can't see it. I have a feeling that when we need it, we're going to need it fast."

"I have that same feeling," Casey agreed as they separated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leo, Mikey, and Raph stood at the edge of the pond staring into its murkiness.

"You sure this is a pond?" Raph asked as he surveyed the large body of water. "It's pretty big for a pond."

"It's a pond," Leo assured him. "It's the right one too; I can see the remains of a boat dock on the other side."

Mikey stuck his toes into the water and then yanked them back out quickly. "Brr, that's cold!"

"Did you think someone was gonna heat it for you like your bath water?" Raph asked mockingly.

"Raph, let's try and remember what we went through this morning trying to keep April busy," Leo said. "Don and Casey are stuck with that job right now and the sooner we find those bones the better for both of them."

Raph shuddered dramatically and said, "I wouldn't wish her company on my worst enemy. Wait, I take that back, I wouldn't mind shoving Ruth off on the Shredder."

"Oh! Maybe we can get her to jump out of April and into Tiger Claw," Mikey said, waving the detector around as he spoke. "That would be awesome!"

"Mikey, maybe you should let me be in charge of the bone detector," Leo said, reaching for the delicate instrument.

"No way bro'," Mikey said, pulling the detector against his chest and out of his brother's reach. "Don gave it to _me_ and showed _me_ how to use it. I'm in charge of the bone search."

Raph's lips curved into a mischievous grin and he reached out, planting his hand firmly on Mikey's carapace and giving him a hard shove. Mikey fell into the water with a loud splash, flailed around for a moment, and then righted himself.

"Not funny Raph," Mikey scolded.

"Oh yes it was," Raph said with a grin, jumping into the water alongside Leo.

The trio swam out to the center of the pond. When they reached the area they felt marked the best starting point, Leo said, "Scan the bottom for anything that looks like bones, or is shaped like a body, or even old cloth. Ruth's killer might have wrapped her body in something. We may lose sight of each other down there, so if you find anything promising, tap on a rock and we'll home in on the sound."

"Let's go, we aren't getting any younger," Raph said, upending his body and diving underwater.

Mikey took a deep breath and followed suit, dragging the bone detector with him. Leo took a last look around, ensuring himself that they were alone, and then dove down beneath the water.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Donatello allowed April to guide him in the placement of the wickets and stakes, pretending to have little knowledge of the game of croquet. Although more than happy to drive the stakes into the ground, April refused to touch the wickets. It took Don a moment to realize that the metal hoops in this particular set were made of iron. Score another point for Michelangelo.

Keeping an eye on the door to the farm house, Don saw Casey peer out to see if the coast was clear. As soon as he spotted the boy, Don drew April's attention to the formation of the wickets, making sure her back was turned to Casey.

When he saw his opportunity, Casey make a quick run to the van, unlocking it and pulling out the canisters of salt. Stacking three against the back tire and three against the front, Casey then darted back into the house. A few minutes later he appeared with a tray of iced lemonade.

After partaking of the cool liquid, the three teens chose the colored balls they wanted to use and the first game of croquet began. April was laughing and lively as she moved her ball through the course, expertly earning bonus points by striking other balls. For a brief time, Don almost forgot that it wasn't really April. That was until she teased one of them for their poor play in her newly acquired accent.

At least it seemed that she'd forgotten that there were three other turtles somewhere about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Being a turtle was a great advantage during an underwater search, even one in such gloomy depths. The brothers were careful not to churn up the bottom any more than necessary as they swam mere inches from the floor of the pond.

By unspoken agreement they had divided the bottom into sections with each of them being diligent in scouring their area.

As turtles their underwater sight and hearing was extraordinary, but they still had to breathe. After about ten minutes under, each of the brothers would bob to the surface to gulp down some air before diving back under.

They'd been at it for nearly three-quarters of an hour and Leo was beginning to despair their ever finding anything, when he heard the ping of wood striking rock. Following the sound he discovered Mikey treading water amidst a plethora of fresh detritus from the pond bottom. The ping of his weapon against a large stone soon drew Raph to the spot.

When Mikey had gotten both Leo and Raph to his location, he swept the bone detector over a raised spot on the pond bottom. Almost at once the chirp of the instrument could be heard and Leo saw the dial move.

Indicating the object on the bottom, Leo began to gently dig at the sandy soil, following the outline of something soft to the touch. Raph followed his example and in a couple of minutes they had uncovered what appeared to be a rug.

Leo pointed upwards and all three of the turtles swam up to the surface.

"He rolled her body up in a rug," Mikey said almost before drawing breath.

"It feels pretty ratty," Raph said. "Been down there a long time, must be one of those expensive rugs for it to still have any shape at all."

"Let's see if we can raise it in one piece," Leo suggested. "If we move carefully enough we might be able to get all of the bones, if that's what's in there, to the shore without losing any of them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I win again!" April exclaimed jubilantly. "We shall have to make a wager on the next game."

"Not money I hope," Casey said. "Plastic's all I've got."

"I'm quite sure I can think of something worthwhile," April replied slyly. "I'll try to make it really wicked."

There was a flirtatious tone to her voice as her eyes slid from Casey to Don. It was clear that croquet wasn't the only game she intended to play.

"Yours is the blue ball April, you go first," Don said politely, standing to the side as April prepared to strike the ball with her mallet.

For a second she remained perfectly still, the mallet down and her eyes directed at the point where she meant for her ball to go. Her mallet came back preparatory to her swing and then stopped.

When April froze, Casey and Don looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"April?" Don asked.

That's when April's face twisted into a horror mask of itself. Her head came up, eyes blazing in fury, and her lips curling back from her teeth.

"So you know!" Ruth shouted at them.

TBC…..


	10. Chapter 10 final

The high pitched shriek and the girl's terrifying aspect were enough to warn Don and Casey that Ruth was no longer worried about being outed. That could only mean one thing; her bones had been found.

Ruth lifted the croquet mallet menacingly and Don immediately dropped his to draw his bō staff in response, preferring the longer reach.

"You can't keep that body," Don said calmly, despite how hard his heart was hammering inside his chest. "It belongs to our friend."

"Oh but I am going to keep it," Ruth said with a scowl. "I've waited a very long time for a host and this is an excellent one. April is young, pretty, and most importantly, very powerful."

"She won't let you hurt us," Casey said. "Can you hear me April? Fight that ghost and kick her out!"

Throwing her head back to laugh, Ruth said, "How pitiful. She hasn't had control of this body since I possessed it. If you two were half as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't have crossed me. Or is it that deranged turtle? Is he the one trying to interfere with my plans?"

Don moved to the side, his weapon pointed directly at Ruth. Just as he'd hoped, she turned with him, keeping him in her sights. With any luck, Casey would understand what he was trying to do and take advantage of the distraction Don was providing him.

The key now was to hold Ruth's attention while the other turtles transported her bones to the cemetery and buried them. Don had no idea if Ruth had yet tried to access April's powers or if April had any command over herself at all.

"What happened to you?" Don asked, stalling for time. "How did you come to be . . . killed?"

"Murdered you mean," Ruth said acidly. "Leopold. I didn't think he had it in him, he always seemed the weaker of the two. Everything would have be so perfect if he had simply married me. Jonathan would have died at sea, he didn't have the fortitude to handle hard labor, and then all of the family money would have gone to Leopold. To me."

From the corner of his eye, Don saw Casey slowly sliding backwards, away from Ruth and towards the van. To keep him covered, Don shifted again, forcing Ruth to move too.

"Was that your plan all along? To have one of the cousins kill the other and then you'd marry the one who was left standing? Wasn't that taking a big chance that the living one wouldn't be tried and convicted of murder?" Don asked.

"It wouldn't have mattered either way," Ruth said. "I was pregnant with a Fenwick grandchild. If the one I married wasn't convicted of murder, I'd still have a hold over him and the money would be completely under my control. If both Leopold and Jonathan died, then my child would be the heir apparent. I'd still be set for life. The elder Fenwicks would never have soiled the family honor by disinheriting either their son or their grandchild."

"Cruel," Don muttered, staring at Ruth in disbelief. In a stronger voice he repeated himself. "That was just cruel."

"Do you want to know what cruel is?" Ruth asked with a short laugh. "Cruel is strangling a pregnant woman to death after promising to make an honest woman of her. Cruel is rolling her dead body inside an expensive rug, rowing her out to the middle of a pond, and dumping her overboard."

"Murder is never right!" Don exclaimed. "Not what was done to you and not what you planned to do to those cousins. Look, I can understand your wanting another body, your own life was cut off before you had the chance to fully live it, but why behave so vindictively towards us?"

He was careful not to mention Casey and was relieved when her attention remained solely on him.

"Why not?" Ruth countered. "Your little April was in the same situation that I had been in with two young men panting after her."

"But we're not rich," Don said. "We don't even have a real home at the moment."

"I want revenge!" Ruth screamed, turning red in the face. "I was going to start small by having you two fools kill each other and then I'd move on. With April's gifts no man will ever shun me again. But now you've spoiled my fun. I shall have to remove you myself and then go after your brothers. They can't be allowed to tamper with my bones."

Dropping the mallet on the ground, Ruth placed her fingertips against her temples. Almost at once the air around her seemed charged with static electricity, her hair lifting from her shoulders to form a halo of sorts behind her head.

Don felt a tingling sensation in his hands as April's power emanated outwards to run along the length of his bō staff. Hanging on tightly, he prepared to charge her, meaning to use incapacitating strikes to immobilize rather than injure.

Before he could move, Donnie saw the wickets and wooden stakes from the croquet game begin to wiggle in the ground. Eyes wide with fear, Don watched as they worked themselves loose and rose into the air.

Then the wooden stakes flipped over, sharp points aiming right at Donatello.

"Aw sewer apples!" Don blurted out as the stakes suddenly flew at him.

At the same moment Casey dove past him, tore the top from a canister of salt, and threw the contents right into April/Ruth's face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three turtles broke the pond's surface at the same time, all of them tossing their heads back to gasp for air. A water laden burden hung between them, their hands strategically placed beneath it due to its fragile nature.

"Okay . . . let's get this . . . to shore," Leo said as he tried to catch his breath. "Ready? Go."

They all began kicking their feet to propel themselves through the water. The rug roll they'd salvaged from the pond's bottom wasn't nearly as buoyant as they would have hoped. Its drag made swimming both difficult and tiring.

Finally their toes began to touch down and the brothers leaned forward, each seeking a solid foothold. The higher they moved out of the water, the heavier their load became, until they were straining against its weight.

Water poured from the underside of the rug and took small chunks of wool with it. Afraid that they'd lose some of its contents, Leo told his brothers, "When I count three, toss it on the shore. One . . . two . . . three!"

Grunting loudly, they flung the rug roll as hard as they could. It cleared the water and landed on dry ground with a solid thump.

Dragging their feet, the brothers walked up next to it, still breathing hard. Hands on knees, they took a couple of minutes to slow their heart rate.

Shaking himself like a puppy, Michelangelo retrieved his nunchucks. Raph and Leo wrung the water from their mask tails and then picked up their weapons as well.

"How much did Ruth weigh? That thing was so heavy!" Mikey complained.

Raph glared at him. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it's been soaking in water for eighty years."

Ignoring them, Leo said, "Let's make sure the bones are in here."

Lifting one of his swords, Leo deftly sliced the rug roll clean through from end to end. The already compromised fabric fell apart easily, with only the inner most layer remaining semi-intact.

Inside were the skeletal remains of a woman. The skin and clothing had long ago melted into the wool of the rug, but there were a few wisps of long hair clinging to the skull. Bracelets, rings, and a necklace were still undamaged on the bones.

There was silence in the face of death as the three brothers stared at the remains. "I guess that's Ruth," Raph said in a low voice.

"Not a pretty way to go," Leo responded.

Raph glanced up at him. "Not too many ways are."

Mikey brought the duffel bag close to the skeleton and pulled the opening wide. "Let's stuff her in here."

Mouth wrinkling in distaste, Raph kneeled next to the skeleton and Leo took the opposite side. Mikey gripped the lower legs and as one they lifted it, the surviving joints holding it together.

Depositing the head and upper body into the bag, Leo told Mikey, "Bring the legs in, we'll have to fold it up to make it fit."

"Okey dokey," Mikey said.

The integrity of the skeleton couldn't survive that treatment and the legs came loose from the torso. Mikey shuddered and quickly pushed them into the bag.

Everything was inside except the arms, which dangled over the sides of the duffel. Leo pushed the left arm in but when Raph went to do the same to the right, the hand broke off and landed in one of his.

"Oh yuck!" Raph exclaimed, tossing the hand on top of rest of the skeleton.

Standing, Mikey zipped up the bag and lifted it, sliding into the strap so that it was tight against his plastron and carapace. This placed the duffel against his hip and Mikey grasped one of the connecting ends to keep the bag flush against his body.

"Ready to go," Mikey announced. "We'd better hurry, Ruth's probably attacking Donnie and Casey right now."

He jogged out ahead of his brothers who quickly caught up to him. "How do you know that? Did you see it on TV?" Raph asked sarcastically.

With a straight face, Mikey said, "Nope, I read it in a comic book. She'll come after us next 'cause we've got her bones."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ruth's shrill scream was part rage, part pain as the entire canister of salt hit her. As she fell to her knees and began pawing at her face, the wickets and stakes, no longer under her control, dropped to the ground.

Casey turned almost as soon as he threw the salt and grabbed Don's shoulder, spinning the turtle away from Ruth. "Run!" Casey yelled in his face and then took off without waiting to see if Don would follow.

Donatello did not need to be told twice. The two long-legged leg teens sprinted side by side towards the van and then Casey kept going, right towards the barn.

"Bad idea, bad idea!" Don called to him, but Casey didn't listen. He slid through the open barn door and then as Don came through, slammed it shut behind them.

Yanking another canister of salt from his waistband, Casey began sprinkling it in front of the door. "This should keep her out," Casey said with a grin.

"What are you doing?" Don demanded sharply.

Straightening up, Casey tossed the empty canister aside and said, "We can just stay in here away from her until the guys bury her bones."

"That won't work," Don said in frustration. "She's tapped into April's powers."

"So? We can still hide," Casey said without concern.

"Are you crazy?" Don asked. "We can't hide in here. She doesn't need to come in to get us, she has psychic access to all the weapons she needs."

He pointed at the walls, indicating the sharp implements hanging on them.

"Yeah, I see your point," Casey said, looking disconcerted.

"Point is right," Don said, striding past a pair of pitchforks to reach the peep hole Mikey had used earlier.

"What's she doing?" Casey asked when Don leaned down to peer through. "Is she after us?"

"No, she's just standing there where we left her," Don answered. "Her eyes are closed, maybe the salt got in them and they sting too much for her to have seen where we went."

"Could we be that lucky?" Casey asked hopefully.

Don watched Ruth lift her fingers to her temples. "I don't think so. She's about to use April's powers again!"

Turning his head, Don looked around the barn, waiting for something to move. When nothing happened after a full minute, he returned to the peep hole.

"Maybe the salt stole her power," Casey offered.

April/Ruth's brow was furrowed, as if she was in deep concentration. Another minute passed without her making a move on the two teens trapped in the barn and then Don realized what she was doing.

"She's after my brothers!" Don shouted. "We have to keep her busy!"

"By doing what, becoming targets?" Casey asked. "We can't hit her, that's April!"

Don whirled around, his eyes raking over the barn. "Okay, okay, salt slows her down but the rest of it's out there," Don muttered, thinking aloud. "Hmm, got to be something else. Iron! Iron is supposed to drain a ghost's energy."

Casey snatched up an iron pry bar. "Got some!"

Shaking his head, Don said, "If we can't hit her what makes you think it's okay to stake her?" His eyes fell on the metal chain which was still on the ground where Mikey had left it. "This is better." Grabbing an end, Don quickly coiled it in loops over one shoulder.

"I'm still bringing this," Casey told him.

"Fine, but bring the salt canister too. We'll charge her together," Don said.

"But it's empty," Casey pointed out.

"She won't know that," Don said. "Just make her think you're going to throw it at her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leo took the lead as the trio jogged for the cemetery, making sure they were taking the most direct route. Not far from the pond the Fenwick property began to look much like the O'Neill farm; heavily wooded and dark, even during the daytime.

They hadn't gone far when a strange sound caught their attention. It was if something was moaning in the tree tops.

Raph caught up to Leo and asked, "The wind maybe?"

He didn't sound much convinced. Leo did not break stride as he looked up and so did Raph.

Overhead the tree limbs were shaking violently, the leaves rustling hard enough to pull loose and fall. Only there was no wind.

"It's the ghost, she's using April's powers!" Mikey yelled as leaves began to rain down on them. "Run!"

The turtles broke into a dead run, hearing loud snapping sounds coming from all around them. Something whizzed past Mikey's shoulder before the whistle of another object made him dart aside.

Raph spun out of the way when he heard something coming at him and a backward glance showed him a tree branch embedding itself in the ground.

"She's using branches like spears!" Leo shouted. "Keep moving!"

Suddenly the air around them was filled with dangerously sharp missiles. Dodging, leaping, and flipping, the trio used all of their ninja training to listen for and avoid being stabbed.

A smaller branch hit Leo's shell and bounced off. Another pierced the duffel bag. The brothers didn't slow down, knowing they had to escape the woods with its abundance of weaponry.

Up ahead Leo saw the clearing and put on a burst of speed to get there. Slowing at the edge of the woods, he looked back to check on his brothers.

Mikey raced past him, wide eyed and running like squirrelanoids were on his heels. Just behind him, Raph grinned, sensing freedom.

A nearby branch snapped loose and shot straight at Raph's head. Swiftly unsheathing his sword, Leo leaped into the air and sliced it in half.

Skidding to a stop, Raph watched the pieces hit the ground. With a puff of relief, he told Leo, "Thanks bro'."

"Don't mention it," Leo said, smiling at him. "Come on, Mikey's halfway to Japan by now."

They headed out into a large field, happy to put the woods behind them. The sun was on its downward swing and since they were moving towards it, the light was bright in their eyes.

"Think we're out of her reach?" Raph asked as the brothers slowed back down to a jog.

"I don't know," Leo said. "Stay sharp."

Before they'd gone much farther, another strange sound reached their ears. It was as if something was cracking

The tall grass began to ripple around them and in a quivering voice, Mikey said, "We'd better get out of here."

Those words were barely out of his mouth when roots began to shoot up out of the dirt to grab at their legs. Once again the trio began to run all out, keeping their eyes on the ground.

Suddenly a giant root snatched at Mikey from behind, catching hold of his ankle and yanking him down.

"Ah, ah, ah! It's got me!" Mikey yelled, kicking at it with his free foot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Taking a deep breath, Don yanked the barn door open and rushed through, followed closely by Casey. Ruth's eyes were closed and the teens made as little noise as possible, hoping to get near her before she was alerted.

They were within a few feet of Ruth when her eyes popped open. Face twisting in anger, Ruth quickly lifted a hand away from her temple and pointed at the pair. Simultaneously, a pink glow radiated out from her head, ran along her arm and passed through her fingertips.

It suddenly felt as if Don was running against a gale force wind. His forward momentum slowed and then stopped altogether just before his feet lost contact with the ground. Glancing over at Casey, he saw that the boy was also caught by April's powers, both of them being bodily lifted skyward.

Hanging in mid-air, Don and Casey flailed about, unable to move or continue their attack.

"Ahh!" Casey yelled, kicking his feet ineffectively.

"Oh~oh oh!" Don cried out, trying to swim against the current holding them and going nowhere.

Ruth laughed as she watched their antics, amused at how easily she'd subdued them. "Did you honestly think it would be that easy? You can't get at me, you can't escape, and neither can the other three freaks. I know exactly where they are and I'm going to take great pleasure in destroying them. I'll start with Michelangelo. Ripping him limb from limb will be highly satisfying."

"No! You leave my brothers alone!" Don shouted.

Continuing to laugh, Ruth closed her eyes once more, ignoring the helpless duo as she returned to her pursuit of the remaining turtles.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At his brother's cry, Raph turned and pulled his sai simultaneously. Rushing back to Mikey, he stuck both of his weapons into the root and then continued to jab it until it released his brother and sank back into the ground.

Grabbing Mikey's hand, Raph pulled him to his feet. Leo ran up to them and asked, "You guys okay?"

Mikey lifted a thumb and Raph said, "Yeah." Looking around them he saw that all movement had stopped. "What gives?" he asked.

"Donnie and Casey must be distracting April," Leo answered. "Move it before they lose her again."

Leo and Raph fanned out to either side of Mikey to protect both him and the bones and the group once more started off. The way to town was an uphill climb and Leo kept them on the correct heading, knowing they'd find the cemetery at the top of that hill.

There were no more attacks as they traversed the remaining few miles. Remembering exactly where the cemetery was located, the turtles made straight for it, seeing the large gated entrance first.

Though the gate was closed and locked, the brothers dropped to the ground and surveyed the property before making an approach. There were no cars to be seen nor any groundskeepers, so they dashed across to the rock wall and leaped over into the graveyard.

It was a fairly large cemetery, with many family plots and mausoleums dotted about. Moving away from the gate and road, the trio made sure they were out of sight of both before looking for a place to bury Ruth's bones.

"Okay, here's an empty section," Raph said, pointing at an area between two graves. "Let's get rid of her."

"No," Mikey said adamantly.

Raph looked at him. "No? What do you mean no? The whole point of this exercise is to bury those bones."

"In consecrated ground," Mikey said. "This is plain cemetery. We have to be inside the iron fence."

He turned to lead the way and Raph muttered, "Oh great, we had to meet up with a picky ghost."

In a few more yards it became clear that they were entering a very old part of the cemetery. Leo glanced at a few of the headstones, noting that they dated into the eighteen hundreds.

Approaching another gated area, Mikey said, "In here."

He pushed open the creaking old iron gate and waited until both Leo and Raph were inside the weed filled plot before carefully closing it again. This part of the cemetery wasn't huge, but it was surrounded by an iron fence.

"At least no one will notice someone's dug a new grave in here," Leo said as he and his brothers dodged bind weed and small shrubs. "I don't think anyone's set foot in here for over a hundred years."

Mikey suddenly stopped and dropped the bag from his shoulder. Posing dramatically, he pointed at the ground and announced, "This is the spot."

Leo and Raph joined him. The place he'd chosen was free of heavy vegetation, but that was mainly because the ground was compacted and hard.

Shooting a sour look at Mikey, Raph asked, "You didn't happen to bring a shovel, did you?"

"Shovel?" Mikey repeated. "Um, that's on Donnie. He was in charge of tools."

"Lame brain," Raph said, crossing his arms.

"Let's see if we can find something," Leo said.

Though they looked all over the area and even inside the ancient mausoleum in that section of the cemetery, the turtles couldn't find any sign of a tool. With a resigned sigh, Raph pulled his sai and began stabbing the soil to loosen it. Mikey joined him, using the curved blade on his kusarigama to dig at the ground.

As they broke up the dirt, Leo removed it with his hands and piled it far to one side so it wouldn't fall back into the hole they were trying to dig.

After a few minutes of that, Leo sat back on his heels and said, "This is too slow; it's going to take forever. There has to be a better way. We need something to scoop out the dirt."

In almost slow motion, Leo and Raph both looked over at their younger brother. Mikey stared back at them. "What?" he asked warily.

Rising to their feet, the larger turtles loomed over him and Raph said, "Come on Mikey, retract."

Standing, Mikey moaned, "I do this for April."

Leo and Raph held their hands out as Mikey swiftly pulled his arms, legs, and head into his shell. His brothers caught him and began using the hard edges of his shell to dig the hole.

Huffing and puffing with the effort, the pair worked as fast as they could. "How far down do we need to go?" Raph asked.

"I'm guessing that deeper is better," Leo said, "but we may not have too much time."

"What do you mean? We're surrounded by an iron fence. I thought ghosts didn't like iron," Raph said.

"I doubt iron is going to stop April's powers," Leo told him.

They had worked in relative quiet up until that point but then an odd whistling sound started to reach their ears. The brothers glanced at each other before doubling their efforts.

"You just had to say that didn't you?" Raph shook his head as he dug. "It's like you were calling to her 'come and get me'."

"Totally not my fault Raph," Leo said. "I have no control over ghosts."

"Just shut up and dig," Raph snapped as a rumbling noise and then a noticeable clatter from nearby joined the mix.

"What was that?" Leo asked, looking over his shoulder.

Behind them the old mausoleum had begun to shake. Stones bigger than the turtle's feet crumbled from its walls, hitting the ground in a cloud of dust.

"Aw crud!" Raph exclaimed, ducking when a stone the size of his fist went whizzing past his head.

"I think she's getting stronger!" Leo shouted.

"No, really?" Raph asked caustically.

Leo calculated that their hole was nearly four feet deep and just wide and long enough for the bones. "This is will do," he announced, twisting aside to avoid a stone.

"Good, let's bury this hag," Raph said.

They set Mikey to the side and he popped out of his shell coughing. "Whoa, nice hole," he said as he got to his feet and then "Yow!" as a stone nearly flattened his face.

"Bones, Mikey, bones," Raph said, kneeling next to the bag and fighting with the zipper.

As abruptly as it had begun, the whistling and clattering stopped. Cautiously peering around them, the trio saw that the stones were no longer moving, though the mausoleum now had a dangerous tilt.

There was still a faint rumbling reaching their hearing, something they could feel in the soles of their feet.

"Forget opening the bag," Leo said. "Let's get her in the ground before Don and Casey lose control of April again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There was a distinctly sinking feeling in Don's gut as he watched Ruth use April's powers, seemingly getting better by the minute and subsequently stronger. They could yell at her, but she certainly wouldn't be distracted by that. She knew they were helpless.

"What are we gonna do, Donnie?" Casey asked. He was panting from his exertions, continuing to try to escape the psychic hold that had them in its grip. "I can't move from here!"

Don's mind was a whirl, examining and discarding ideas in rapid fire succession. He finally hit on an idea, the only idea that he thought might work.

"I'm going to talk to April," Don said.

Casey stared at him. "I've been trying to talk to her. I don't know if she's even there."

"She's there and she can hear us," Don assured him. "I just have to say the one thing that will really reach her; the one thing she never wanted to hear from either of us."

Frowning, Casey asked, "What are you talking about?"

"April!" Don called as loudly as he could. "Choose! Either me or Casey. You have to do it now! Save one of us!"

Casey's mouth dropped open and then his eyes widened as he caught on. "Yes! Come on Red, pick Donnie! He's smart, he deserves to live!"

"No, go with Casey!" Don shouted. "He's a better choice! Casey's human and he's . . . uh, human!"

Casey looked over at him. "Really? That the best you can do?"

"Give me a break, I'm under pressure here," Don replied. Returning to the girl, he yelled, "No more hiding from it, you have to pick one of us April!"

Don saw that when he first called out to April to choose, her forehead crinkled before smoothing out. After Casey told her who she should pick, the furrow in her forehead returned, and then deepened with each subsequent appeal.

Now it appeared as if Ruth was straining to maintain control. She was bent forward, her entire face wrinkled in pain.

Then suddenly they heard April's voice. "No, I won't do that!"

In a second the accent was back. "Stay down girl!"

"She won't!" Don yelled. "April will fight you!"

April/Ruth let out an agonized grunt and then fell to one knee, her uplifted arm starting to quiver. When she went down her eyes opened and for a brief moment, locked with Don's.

The whirlwind that was trapping Don and Casey began to lessen in strength. There was a minute shift in their position as the pair felt themselves going down.

"The ground's getting closer," Don said. "Come on April, you can do it!"

Ruth abruptly slapped both palms to her temples, her body rocking from side to side before she once more started to rise.

"That ghost is gaining control again!" Casey warned.

"April's been trapped in her own body for two days," Don said. "She's too exhausted to fight."

Her eyes closed again and the ghost hummed in satisfaction though her mouth was still pressed into a thin line.

Knowing he had maybe a millisecond to act, Don whipped the chain loose from his body. Grabbing it in the middle he spun the chain until half of it was twirling next to him. And then Don flung the chain directly at April.

The chain snapped across the intervening space and then its center curved back towards the girl, catching her around her waist. Momentum kept it moving as it wrapped around her in tight coils.

Ruth screamed in anguish as the iron rings locked her in their cold grip. Everything that had been suspended in the air dropped to the ground, including Don and Casey.

"Woof!" Casey landed hard on his backside and then scrambled to get up when he saw that Don had kept his balance and come down on his feet.

Keeping a tight grip on the chain, Donnie dug in his heels as Ruth began wriggling against his hold, thrashing about like a captured tiger. Casey ran up next to him and grabbed onto the chain as well, surprised at how much strength Ruth was exhibiting.

"Hold on!" Don yelled. "The iron's draining Ruth's energy and giving April a fighting chance!"

Ruth's struggles began to slow and in another minute they heard April. "Get out, get out, get _out_!"

"Kick her butt Red!" Casey called in encouragement.

"Get out of my body!" April shouted and then her head jerked back, open mouth wide as a stream of white mist spiraled out of her.

April collapsed, falling on her side. Releasing the chain, both teens ran to her, kneeling protectively over her body.

Looking up, they could see Ruth's ghost hovering nearby, her ghoulish face twisted in rage.

"I'll destroy you both and retake that body!" Ruth shrieked at them.

"No ghost messes with Casey Jones!" the boy yelled back at her.

"Don't take the chain off of April," Don told him. "No matter what happens, we can't let that ghost get back into her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leo, Mikey, and Raph all pushed the duffel bag containing Ruth's bones into the hole they'd dug. It made a satisfying _thump_ when it landed and then all three used their hands to shovel dirt on top of the bag.

The hole was half filled when the rumbling sound ceased. The trio did not slow down, each determined to finish the job.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I hate you all!" Ruth screamed, diving at the duo protecting April.

Clutching the chain, Don and Casey ducked down and closed their eyes.

The strong smell of decay and stagnant water hit them, making the pair gag before they held their breath. And then almost on top of them, they heard Ruth howl, "No! No!"

Their eyes snapped open and both teens looked up. Ruth's ghost was flying backwards, her body spinning and arms flailing. After a second she began to elongate and then pieces peeled off of her, little wisps of body parts that faded away as soon as they left her.

The ghost disintegrated in front of them and the final thing to fade was her wide open maw in a fashion reminiscent of the Cheshire cat. Only Ruth's ghost wasn't smiling.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With all of the dirt finally back in the hole, the turtles stamped on it to pack it down. For good measure, they rolled a few good sized rocks on top of it and then covered the area with fallen leaves.

Breathing deeply, the brothers looked around at each other and then all three began to whoop in triumph.

"We did it!" Leo exclaimed.

"Took that ghost down!" Raph shouted, clapping Mikey on the shell. "You were amazing, Mikey."

"That's how I roll," Mikey said complacently and then his expression changed to one of discomfort as he started shifting his shoulders and twisting his hips.

"What's wrong bro'?" Leo asked.

"I've got dirt in my shell," Mikey complained. "Dudes, it's itching me!"

"Let's get you home to a nice, warm bath," Leo said, laughing.

"Unless you can't wait that long," Raph said mischievously. "You can always go for another swim in the pond."

"I'll wait," Mikey said, grinning at him. "You know what this calls for? A high three!"

Coming together, the brothers raised their arms and slapped their hands together, yelling, "Turtles rule!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A little while later the group of six were back together again and gathered in the kitchen. Mikey had settled for a quick wash with the water hose because he declared he was too hungry to stop for a bath and both Leo and Raph had availed themselves of the hose as well.

Mikey was busily preparing pizzas, humming to himself as he worked. Raph stood next to him at the range, watching to make sure his little brother didn't add any suspicious ingredients.

Leo and Casey sat at the kitchen table with cold drinks. Casey had the last four canisters of salt in front of him and was trying ever ingenious ways to stack them.

Don was telling their side of the tale as he stood at the kitchen sink with April. Her head was down near the faucet, eyes open as Don rinsed them with cold water.

"Gosh, did you have to throw the salt in my face?" April asked. "It still stings."

"I was kinda freaking out at the time Red," Casey said. "Next ghost we hunt, I'll be ready."

"There better not be a next time," Raph said. "I'm sick of ghosts."

A small smile had lifted one corner of Leo's mouth and he asked, "So Donnie, you finally asked April _the_ question. Did you ever get an answer?"

"No he didn't," April answered for him as she straightened and accepted a towel from Don. "He only asked it to help me fight the ghost and no one is going to ask it again."

She glanced meaningfully around the kitchen, collecting only impish grins and cocky looks, except from Mikey who was focused on pizza. When she looked up at Don she saw only an open and cute countenance covered in a blush, and her gaze softened.

"Pizza in twenty minutes!" Mikey called out.

April sat down at the table and after Don got drinks for both of them, he sat next to her. Mikey was working on another batch of pizzas and Raph leaned comfortably against the counter, a bag of jelly beans tucked safely into his belt and away from the chef.

"Do you know the main difference between Don and Casey and the Fenwick cousins?" Leo asked, following a train of thought aloud.

"There's a lot of them," Casey said, eyeing his turtle rival.

"There's only one big one," Leo asserted. "When the situation is dire, you two can put your arguments aside and work together."

"Too bad Jonathan and Leopold didn't sit down and compare notes," April said. "They would have seen right off that Ruth Haverstock was bad news."

"How about we don't say that name anymore?" Raph asked.

Mikey turned to him. "What's the matter, afraid she'll come back?"

"The only thing I'm afraid of is your face," Raph told him.

"It _is_ all kinds of awesome," Mikey glibly returned. Walking over to the table, Mikey addressed the occupants. "I only have one question."

Leo gave him a puzzled look. "What's that Mikey?"

Pointing at the canisters, Mikey asked, "What are we gonna do with all this salt?"

The End


End file.
